Appeal fails for hacker who opened port to coke smugglers

"The court heard how the defendant helped orchestrate the intrusion of a port operator's computer systems by having a terminal employee insert a USB stick containing malware into a workstation. That single physical act opened the door to months of remote access. Investigators found a backdoor installed in September 2020 that stayed put into the following year, while chats show the defendant exploring the network and hunting for admin access."

"A Dutch appeals court has kept a seven-year prison sentence in place for a man who hacked port IT systems with malware-stuffed USB sticks to help cocaine smugglers move containers, brushing off claims that police shouldn't have been reading his encrypted chats. Chats on encrypted messaging service SkyECC showed the defendant effectively live-blogging the break-in. He told accomplices "USB is faster," promised to "delete the logs" once he had admin rights, and later moaned that the intrusion detection system was "a pain in the ass.""

A Dutch national received a seven-year prison sentence for orchestrating cyber intrusions into port operator systems using malware-laden USB sticks to facilitate cocaine smuggling and extortion. He arranged for a terminal employee to insert a USB, enabling a persistent backdoor from September 2020 into 2021, and explored the network seeking admin rights. Encrypted SkyECC chats documented his actions, including promises to delete logs and complaints about intrusion detection. He appealed on grounds that cross-border acquisition of encrypted messages undermined his rights, but the Amsterdam Court of Appeal upheld convictions and rejected the challenge. Europol later disrupted SkyECC in 2021.

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