Large cyber hostage scheme leads to Amersfoort arrests

The police arrested two men from Amersfoort on Monday on the suspicion that they spread so-called ransomware to tens of thousands of computers world wide. According to the police, some 1,500 people fell victim to the virus, which locked their computers. They had to pay over an amount of bitcoins to have the computers unlocked. Victims who refused to pay lost their files. The investigation was launched after the police received information from antivirus company Kaspersky. The investigation led to two men, aged 18 and 22, from Amersfoort. The suspects were arrested on Monday. They will be appearing in front of the magistrate in Rotterdam on Thursday. The police also raided the suspects' homes and seized hard drives and other media storage devices, among other things, for further investigation.