Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with a cyber intrusion that targeted Kido, a network of nurseries operating across London. The pair are being held on suspicion of computer misuse and blackmail, and remain in police custody as investigations continue.

The breach, which took place in September, resulted in the theft of highly sensitive personal information from around 8,000 children enrolled at Kido. The compromised data included names, photographs, and home addresses.

Following the breach, the attackers published the profiles of 10 children online and issued a ransom demand, threatening to release more data if their demands weren’t met. Kido notified parents that the breach originated through Famly, a popular nursery management platform used to share updates and images with families.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that inquiries are ongoing and that steps are being taken to remove the exposed data from the internet and prevent further security incidents.

Australian citizen fined $350K for AI deepfake pornography

An Australian man has been fined nearly $350,000 for creating and distributing AI-generated deepfake pornography of prominent women, marking the first time such a penalty has been imposed in Australia.

The Federal Court ordered Anthony Rotondo to pay $343,500 in penalties, along with legal costs, after he was found to have created and shared 12 non-consensual pornographic deepfakes involving six Australian women between late 2022 and October 2023.

Rotondo was arrested in October 2023. When questioned, he said he understood the images could cause “upset and distress,” but described his activities as a “hobby” and “fun.” He posted the content on the now-defunct website MrDeepFakes[.]com.

In a separate ruling in December 2023, Rotondo was fined an additional $25,000 for contempt of court after breaching three court orders. The court heard he had circulated the legal orders, which named the women involved, to eSafety Commission staff and nearly 50 other email addresses, including media outlets, just one day after being instructed not to. Rotondo has also been ordered to cover the eSafety Commission’s legal expenses.

Argentine authorities arrest a Nigerian man behind a global romance scam network

Argentine authorities have arrested a Nigerian national, identified as Ikechukwu N., accused of orchestrating a global romance scam operation that defrauded thousands of women across multiple countries.

Ikechukwu was apprehended as part of Operation Jackal, a coordinated international crackdown targeting West African organized crime groups involved in cyber fraud and money laundering. The operation involved the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), Airport Security Police (PSA), INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), Argentina’s Federal Intelligence Secretariat (FIS), and INTERPOL Brazil.

INTERPOL says that Ikechukwu allegedly led a cybercrime syndicate that specialized in romance scams, schemes in which criminals build fake online relationships to emotionally manipulate and financially exploit victims. The network reportedly used fake identities and social media platforms to lure victims before extracting money, often via complex transfers and cryptocurrency transactions designed to hide the proceeds.

Ikechukwu is expected to face charges related to cyber fraud. Operation Jackal has led to hundreds of arrests and the disruption of major online fraud syndicates in recent years. In particular, 75 suspected members of the “Black Axe” cybercrime syndicate were arrested in October 2022, with authorities intercepting €1.2 million and seizing 12,000 SIM cards.

Indian police bust major SIM box network linked to ‘digital arrest’ scams

The Cyber Crime Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police has busted a SIM box racket used by cybercriminals to carry out so-called ‘digital arrest’ schemes, a type of fraud where a scammer impersonates law enforcement or government officials, falsely accuses victims of serious crimes, and demands money by threatening them with a non-existent ‘digital arrest warrant’ or ‘digital arrest.’

During the coordinated raids, officers made multiple arrests and seized communication equipment. According to the police, 14 high-capacity SIM boxes were initially seized during raids last month across Tamil Nadu, leading to the arrest of six suspects. Further investigation revealed the suspects destroyed five SIM boxes in an attempt to evade arrest. One device was later recovered.

In New Delhi, police arrested three suspects. Searches in the Narela and Nilothi areas led to the recovery of 24 SIM boxes, which forensic analysis confirmed were used in scams orchestrated by an international cybercrime syndicate.

According to the authorities, the police have dismantled a total of 44 SIM boxes over the last two months.

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Uruguayan citizen sentenced to 2 years in prison for data breaches

A man in Uruguay has been sentenced to 24 months in prison after being found guilty of several serious cybercrimes. The man, identified in a government press release as V.K.B.M., was convicted on several charges, including repeated data breaches, computer system damage, possession of illegal digital material, and certificate forgery.

The investigation started after several organizations reported unauthorized access to their systems, as well as website tampering, fake domain creation, and the leaking of personal data online.

Using digital forensics, investigators found links between V.K.B.M. and several cyber-attacks. Police raided his location, arrested him, and seized key evidence.

The man was sentenced to 24 months in prison, added to the national abuser registry, and had all his electronic devices confiscated. He was also fined, with the money going to the Asset Seizure Fund.