Hangzhou cracked a cryptocurrency extortion case targeting enterprises, involving more than 300,000 yuan

According to Xinhua News Agency, on May 19, the Shangcheng District People's Court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, recently delivered a first-instance verdict in a special extortion case. A former network security engineer used a Trojan virus to "hack" the company's network system and demanded cryptocurrency as "ransom". At the end of 2023, the head of the technical department of a medical institution in Hangzhou received calls from various departments reporting system login failures. After verification, 89 servers of the company were unable to operate, completely paralyzing business operations. Statistics showed that three victim companies spent over 330,000 yuan purchasing cryptocurrency from a third party to pay the perpetrator to restore normal operations. After being apprehended, the suspect admitted to the criminal facts of extortion using a Trojan virus. On September 11, 2024, the Shangcheng District People's Procuratorate legally prosecuted Qi and three others for extortion and infringement of citizens' personal information. In March 2025, the case was tried in the Shangcheng District People's Court. Recently, the four defendants were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from three to seven and a half years, along with fines. The verdict has now taken effect.