A 35-year-old man from Ukraine’s Poltava region has been arrested for hijacking thousands of online hosting accounts to illegally mine cryptocurrency, costing one international hosting company over $4.4 million. Ukrainian cyber police reported on June 4 that the suspect gained unauthorized access to more than 5,000 customer accounts by exploiting security flaws in the servers of global web hosting providers.

Authorities say the accused had been carrying out this cryptojacking scheme since at least 2018. By deploying unauthorized virtual machines and crypto mining software on hijacked accounts, the suspect was able to mine cryptocurrency while sticking the hosting company with the power and server bills.

To avoid capture, the suspect allegedly moved between several regions, including Poltava, Odesa, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk. During a search of his residence, investigators found crypto wallets, email login data used for hacking, software for managing remote mining operations, and multiple devices connected to hacker forums.

The suspect now faces charges related to unauthorized interference with electronic networks. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison and be banned from working in IT or communications-related roles for up to three years.

The police noted that the investigation is still ongoing and more charges may follow. This case highlights the growing threat of cryptojacking, where bad actors hijack computing power for profit without consent. A similar incident in the U.S. last year saw a man charged for defrauding cloud providers out of nearly $1 million to mine crypto illegally. As crypto remains a lucrative target, cybersecurity threats tied to digital assets continue to escalate worldwide.