In Bulgaria, Teodor Vanev Iliev, known under the pseudonym “Emil Kulev”, was arrested for breaking into several state institutions. Cybersecurity experts have linked it to the RansomedVC cyber gang, which previously claimed to have hacked Sony.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria announced the arrest of a 21-year-old hacker who operated under the pseudonym “Emil Kulev” for hacking dozens of state institutions, commercial banks, insurance companies and other legal entities. The authorities accuse Iliev of crimes committed from 2020 to 2024. This means that he committed the first crimes that attracted the attention of law enforcement officers at the age of 17.
Bulgarian authorities report that police searched 20 locations across the country until they found the hacker. Iliev, also known as MAGADANS, rose to prominence in Bulgaria after allegedly leaking data from a local insurance company, LEV INS, whose owner was killed a month after posting the leak on BreachForums.
The announcement of Iliev’s arrest does not mention his ties to any extortionist gangs, but researchers have previously pointed to similarities between “Emil Kulev” and RansomedVC. Iliev is suspected of operating under several other aliases, including Kmeta, Impotent and Dastardy.
At the end of 2023, RansomedVC claimed to have hacked several large companies, including the Japanese multinational corporation Sony. However, researchers suspected that some of the hacks may have been fake or attempts to resell previously stolen data.
RansomedVC went out of business after a failed attempt to sell the operation. According to cybercrime monitoring tool Cybernews Ransomlooker, the gang claimed to have hacked 41 organizations during its entire period of activity.
Teodor Vanev Iliev, known under the pseudonym “Emil Kulev”, began his criminal activities at the age of 17, breaking into state institutions and commercial companies. His connection to the RansomedVC cyber gang, which has carried out attacks on major corporations such as Sony, adds important context to his arrest. The data breach of a local insurance company, LEV INS, attracted widespread attention after the murder of the company’s owner.
The arrest of Teodor Vanev Iliev became an important event in the fight against cybercrime in Bulgaria. Despite his young age, the hacker managed to cause significant damage to many institutions, and his connection with the well-known RansomedVC gang once again emphasizes the danger of such criminal groups.
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