Spanish police have arrested a 16-year-old Romanian suspected of running the KillSec hacker group

Spanish police have arrested a 16-year-old Romanian citizen in Alicante, suspected of being the main operator and administrator of the KillSec hacker group. The network is accused of coordinating approximately 1,000 ransomware cyberattacks worldwide over the past two years, according to Reuters, which cited authorities and Europol.

The international investigation led to the arrest of two more people, one in the United Kingdom and the other in Romania. In the case of the man detained in the UK, authorities in Puerto Rico have issued an extradition request, indicating the scale of the damage under investigation.

Investigators have also identified a fourth person whom they say was involved in the group’s activities. This person has not been arrested and turned 18 only in August, having been a minor when some of the alleged offenses under investigation were committed.

To dismantle the technical infrastructure, police searched eight homes in Spain, Greece, Romania and the United Kingdom. Electronic equipment was seized and digital evidence was collected for analysis as part of the investigation.