This National Police Distributed a network in Spain through boots managed to crash his online system. previous appointment at immigration to get all available appointments for resell them later. an operation that ends with 69 people were arrested and 25 more were investigated nationwide, seven in the province of Alicante. Performed bots repetitive and automated tasks this allowed them to bypass security filters to retrieve all available appointments. One of those arrested in Alicante is considered one of those arrested. responsible for making major appointments carried out by a company. During the search, a computer with several open browser tabs linked to the electronic center’s appointment page was found. In another window there was a spreadsheet that was changed automatically or remotely.
Making an appointment with the administration in advance, a impossible mission for a large number of citizens and even professionals. Procedures such as seeking asylum, writing invitation letters so that other relatives could come to Spain, or getting a NIE were completely out of reach. From the very first moments, it was suspected that it could happen. organized cage or an action hacker this was interfering with the normal functioning of the Public Administration website. These appointments, which are free and do not require the citizens to pay any fees, have been offered for sale again. black market with prices ranging from 30 and 200 euros and many citizens faced the impossibility of not receiving care.
The investigation, coordinated by agents Center for Illegal Immigration Networks and Documentary Frauds (UCRIF)started by Valencia City Immigration and Border Brigade after technical report Central Cybercrime Unit of the Judicial Police General Commissioner. The proceedings are centralized in the Valencia Instruction 8 Court,
A report from expert agencies cyber crime It has allowed to unblock a series of investigations conducted by several Provincial Immigration Brigades based in Spain regarding existing problems in accessing the system for foreign nationals in the country to request pre-appointment. The police investigation led to the emergence of a criminal network. computer bot usedIt is based on performing repetitive, predefined and automated tasks that they obtain all available personal appointments necessary to deliver. mandatory immigration procedures andthroughout the national territory. As a result, the system was left unavailable to users and thus interrupted normal access to a free public service provided by the National Police, which is exclusively responsible for running immigration procedures across the country.
payments
Foreign citizens interested in requesting an appointment often had to resort to alternatives, including contacting the bot’s owners or agents for a financial cost ranging from 30 to 200 euros.
Computer bot developed by the criminal network, bypassing security mechanisms it even evades the so-called “captcha” installed on the web, which aims to detect the existence of such a computer program. The leaders of the organization instructed the intermediaries to use a tool. VPN connection (Virtual Private Network)its purpose was to hide the real IP address of the broker. In this way, they had the opportunity to make more appointments, because this system changed the business world. IP address automatically prevent the server from blocking the agent due to excessive appointment requests.
Different statements were taken in the first phase of the investigation, economic-substantive analyzes of the companies were made and other investigations that resulted in the first police operation. four logins and registrations. Investigative teams intervened in Barcelona and Valencia, arresting the four main members of the organization, with numerous computer effects, various documents, and in total. 206,950 euros in cash.
Following these initial arrests, an economic investigation was launched against the parent company under investigation and the company used for procurement. robot rental services for the sale of immigration appointments. Also, a documentation analysis Interference with records and other investigations that lead to the detection of the presence of a group of people acting as intermediaries in collusion with the principal investigator arrested.
Boat rental for 24/7 operation
Arrestedthey rented the boat for uninterrupted use Entering or transmitting data in the online appointment computer system in such a way as to seriously impair the normal and correct operation of the appointment management website for immigration procedures throughout Spain.
The research also allowed find various trade agreements Among the searched intermediaries and main ones for the provision of online bot services. Through this document, they acknowledged that they were acting as the responsible and owners of the file on the bot. digital source. After economic study, it was possible to confirm that all transactions pass in the concept as “”.robot rental”. It was even known that the intermediaries received large sums of money. income from the sale of immigration appointments, It came from people who had the intention to apply for asylum and had no choice but to pay to get an appointment that was normally free of charge.
This agents, lawyers, managers, consultants and other successful individuals The people working with the company in question were aware of and were aware of the existence of computer damage on the official dating site and, accordingly, the damage caused by foreigners;
To use the bot they have separate license for each agent. Once completed this page has been sent directly to: feed the bot with data so it automatically post information to the web after appointments are announced. HE data management It also allowed the selection of the province and the execution of the immigration procedure on the part of the intermediaries.
The bot detected the moment when appointments were released in different provinces and preloaded the data and allocated them and 24 hours programmable controlling the release of appointments, compromising the functional operability of the system.
second scene
Developed in the second stage Provinces of Alicante and Cáceres, two people who carry out their activities through a company and are responsible for obtaining great citations were determined. After entering and registering at an address in the prefecture of Alicante, a computer with several browser windows was intercepted, among other things. open linked to the appointment page of the electronic center, at the beginning of the application for immigration procedures. In another window there was a spreadsheet that was changed automatically or remotely.
After the first two operational operations were completed, Central UCRIF agents, in collaboration with several Provincial Immigration and Border Brigades from different provinces, carried out the necessary investigations. identify and position as many members of the organization as possible with the function of intermediaries or those tasked with hiring a bot that interferes with the normal functioning of the public administration website.
Following the examination of the information obtained so far, the new investigation phase was initiated, resulting in the arrest of 69 members of a criminal organization in the districts. Madrid, Albacete, Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Barcelona, Vizcaya, Burgos, Cádiz, Córdoba, Balearic Islands, Marbella, Murcia, Tarragona, Tenerife, Toledo and Valencia. Those arrested are held responsible for being a member of a criminal organization and damaging computers. Also, the total 25 researched He was not detained in the states of Madrid and Cádiz.
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.