Law enforcement officers in Kyiv have completed a pre-trial investigation into a 27-year-old resident of the Kyiv region who illegally hacked the electronic appointment generation system for the Ministry of Internal Affairs service centers. According to information released by the communication department of the Kyiv police and the press service of the Kyiv city prosecutor’s office, the man created a complex script that allowed him to intercept available appointment slots immediately after they appeared in the system.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Mechanism of Operation and Scale of Illegal Activities
It is known that the cost of one “e-queue” started at 1000 hryvnias. With the help of the software developed by the hacker, appointment slots, which are limited in number per day, became available to clients who turned to intermediaries. Using a Telegram bot, the perpetrator found and sold appointment slots for services at the territorial service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“The man devised a way to ‘help’ those eager to obtain an appointment for services at the territorial service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As is known, a limited number of such appointments are generated each day, which means not everyone can use the services on their desired day, leading them to turn to intermediaries who promise to help secure an appointment,” the statement reads.
The criminal activity lasted for three months, during which the man generated at least 50 appointment slots daily and resold them via Telegram, earning at least 1000 hryvnias for each. During this time, he made approximately 40,000 US dollars.
Arrest and Possible Consequences
In November, the hacker was arrested and was informed of the suspicion under part 5 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — unauthorized interference in the operation of information and communication systems. This offense led to the blocking and distortion of information processing processes and was committed during wartime.
After the investigation was completed, the case was sent to court. For his actions, the perpetrator faces up to fifteen years of imprisonment with the possibility of restrictions on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years.