Intelligence agencies from around the world were looking for this one guy, and he was living here in Canada.
The FBI contacted the OPP in January 2020 about ransomware attacks that originated from Canada. The OPP’s Cyber Operations Section started an investigation with assistance from the RCMP’s Cybercrime Coordination Unit and Europol.
All agencies investigated a number of ransomware attacks that affected businesses, government agencies (domestic and foreign), as well as virtual attacks on private individuals throughout Canada and the United States.
Ottawa resident Matthew Philbert, who’s 31 years old, is facing several charges related to cybercrimes and is being held in custody.
Police seized various computers, a tablet, several hard drives and cellphones, as well as a Bitcoin seed phrase and several blank cards that had magnetic strips.