Two teenage boys were arrested in the Netherlands over suspicions of spying for pro-Russian hackers, Dutch authorities announced.
The two 17-year-old boys were allegedly approached by the hackers on Telegram, a messaging application popular among cybercriminals and state-sponsored threat actors.
According to local media, one of the boys was allegedly seen walking by Europol and Eurojust headquarters, and the Canadian embassy, while carrying a Wi-Fi sniffer, which is used to map Wi-Fi networks and intercept data.
Prosecutors confirmed the arrests, saying that the teens were suspected of links to “government-sponsored interference”.
One of the boys was placed on home bail, wearing an ankle monitor, while the other remained in custody. Their hearing should take place within two weeks.
According to media reports, the teen that remained in custody was arrested while doing his homework. The investigators executed a search warrant at his home and seized electronic equipment.
The boy’s father reportedly said that his son has a part-time job, is a heavy gamer and is computer savvy, with a fascination for hacking.
Similar incidents involving individuals recruited by Russian hackers were recently reported in Germany and Ukraine. The Russian threat actors reportedly lured teenagers into performing mild vandalism acts against official buildings, or to film government infrastructure.
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