Hacker gets seven years for breaching Rotterdam and Antwerp ports
Hacker gets seven years for breaching Rotterdam and Antwerp ports
Publish Date: 2026-01-12 18:06:47
Source Domain: www.bleepingcomputer.com
Summary:
An Amsterdam Court of Appeal sentenced a 44-year-old Dutch man convicted for hacking, drug importing, and attempted extortion to seven years in prison. The individual was arrested in 2021 for multiple crimes facilitated by breaching port IT systems to help smuggle drugs undetected. Though Europol had intercepted his communications on the encrypted service Sky ECC, which led to the capture of its CEO and other users, these objections were dismissed. The defendant’s attempts to have the sentence reduced on the grounds of law enforcement unlawfully accessing his Sky-ECC messages failed as procedural violations claims lacked substantiation. The court upheld the conviction for complicity in computer hacking, facilitating drug trafficking, smuggling 210kg of cocaine, and attempting extortion, concluding that these activities were part of a larger scheme to facilitate drug trafficking through hacked port systems.
Key Points:
- The Amsterdam Court of Appeal sentenced the defendant to seven years for hacking, drug importing, and attempted extortion.
- The defendant’s defense based on intercepted communications was rejected as procedural claims lacked sufficient substantiation.
- The hacking enabled the smuggling of 5,000 kg of cocaine, intercepted through compromising port system IT infrastructures in Rotterdam, Barendrecht, Antwerp, and other locations.
- The conviction included hacking for unauthorized drug importation and attempting to sell malware to facilitate similar crimes.
- The court dismissed the appeal, confirming that the intercepted messages were lawfully acquired in the context of Europol’s investigation.
