The Russian-Ukrainian war continues to wreak havoc. Alex Holden, a Ukrainian cyber espionage expert is doing his country a favor. Together with his Hold Security team, they manage to hack into one of Russia’s largest online drug markets called Solaris. By playing Robin Hood of the dark web, Holden will donate the cryptos he manages to embezzle to charity. This is Enjoying Life, an organization that provides humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
Alex Holden hacks Solaris on the dark web
Alex Holden said he was able to take over much of the Solaris ecosystem. He also took control of a number of admin accounts managing the illicit market, drop-off points for drug deliveries as well as a database of its users. His team also had temporary control over the main Solaris wallet. It is a wallet that buyers and dealers use to deposit and withdraw funds. It acts as the crypto exchange of the Solaris site.
Screenshots shown to Forbes indicate that there was indeed access to Solaris backend accounts. Holden said the money flowing in and out of the wallet quickly contained only 3 Bitcoins, worth $50,000. It wasn’t huge but he managed to grab 1.6 bitcoin valued at $25,000. Playing Robin Hood, he then sent it to the Ukrainian charity Enjoying Life. Hold Security also made a separate donation of $8,000.
The case has a political dimension
Alex Holden now has crucial information about Solaris users and operations. These could be used to locate Russian cybercriminals using the site to power their operations. He made the case public via Forbes in order to pressure the owners to shut down the site. Attacks can also impact Killnet, a team of hackers associated with Solaris.
The attack also has a political aim. Without their drugs, the Russians might be able to do something by looking soberly at their country. The Kremlin could also solve drug problems instead of invading Ukraine, Holden adds.
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