Ontario Provincial Police reveal that an Ottawa man has been charged with multiple ransomware attacks, allegedly targeting businesses, government agencies and individuals across Canada.
The 31-year-old is also believed to have been involved in cybercrime-related offenses in the United States. The Ontario police have also clarified that they were first contacted by the United States Federal Police (FBI) in January 2020 regarding ransomware attacks from Canada.
The Ontario Provincial Police said its cybercrime section had opened a “separate but parallel” investigation with the help of the National Cybercrime Coordination Group of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Europol.
During the 23-month investigation, police determined that several ransomware attacks were linked to an individual.
Police say Ottawa resident has been charged with fraud, possession of a device that enables unauthorized use of a computer or the commission of mischief, and unauthorized use of a computer , under the Criminal Code.
Investigators claim that several pieces of evidence were seized, including computers, hard drives, cell phones and blank magnetic stripe cards.
The accused is being held pending re-appearance in court in Ottawa.
Since 2019, the OPP says it has seen a 140% increase in reports of these types of cybercrime offenses.
This dispatch was written with financial assistance from the Facebook Stock Exchanges and The Canadian Press for News.