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ListenABC NewsNews HomeTwo Perth hackers charged after major AFP, FBI investigation into alleged global
cybercrimeShareShare articleTwo Perth hackers charged after major AFP, FBI investigation into alleged global
cybercrimeBy Callum LiddelowDBy David WeberTopic:Cyber CrimePosted Thu 27 Aug 2026 at 3:14pmThu 27 Aug 2026 at 3:14pmThu
27 Aug 2026 at 3:14pm, updated Thu 27 Aug 2026 at 6:52pmThu 27 Aug 2026 at 6:52pmThu 27 Aug 2026 at 6:52pmAuthorities
released vision of the suspects being arrested. In short:Two WA men in their early 20s have been charged with allegedly
masterminding a global cybercrime syndicate that compromised hundreds of organisations.The men were arrested after a
joint investigation by the state and federal police, in addition to the FBI.What's next?Police expect more people
will be arrested in relation to the syndicate as investigations
continue.abc.net.au/news/two-wa-men-charged-after-investigation-into-alleged-cybercrime/107084796Link copiedShareShare
articleTwo young Western Australians have been described as the alleged "masterminds" behind a
"sophisticated cybercrime syndicate" that created malicious software to rob hundreds of organisations around
the world.Ruben Ian Thomson, 21, and Louis Michael Gaebler, 23, were arrested in Perth following a joint investigation
with federal and state police working alongside the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).The FBI's Assistant
Law Enforcement Attache Dave Andish said Mr Thomson was the alleged leader of the highly organised syndicate known as
TeamPCP, which police say is involved in large-scale cybercrimes including data intrusion, identity crime and
cryptocurrency-based money laundering.The FBI's David Andish described the syndicate, known as TeamPCP, as highly
organised. (ABC News: Callum Liddelow)The pair faced court today charged with 14 offences in total after police raided
properties in Cottesloe, Hamilton Hill and Mandurah where electronic devices and other items were seized.During a bail
application for Mr Thomson, the prosecutor described the men as "masterminds" in the offending, saying further
charges were likely. The men were arrested in Perth over their alleged involvment in the group.
(Supplied)Investigations began in April after the Australian Federal Police and the FBI received tip offs about the
syndicate, which allegedly inserted malicious code into open source software available online that was then unwittingly
used by other developers.A sophisticated cybercrime syndicate allegedly created malicious open-source software to rob
thousands of global businesses. (Pixabay: terydanphiri)The term 'open source' refers to content that
developers can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible.Hundreds of organisations compromisedPolice
will allege the infected software made its way into computer systems across government, academic and private sector
institutions, potentially compromising more than 1,000 organisations globally. OpenAI model hacks startupOpenAI has
announced one of its AI models went rogue and broke containment during testing.The software allegedly enabled the
syndicate to infiltrate those organisations to steal or harvest sensitive data, including more than 500,000 user
credentials and authentication materials.AFP Commander Graeme Marshall said this allowed the group to allegedly
impersonate legitimate users, bypass security controls and gain unauthorised access to networks and cloud
environments. Commander Marshall said this resulted in "significant" financial losses and interruptions to
operations, with remediation costs estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.AFP Commander Graham Marshall
said many cybercriminals are in their early twenties, with some even still in high school. (ABC News: Callum Liddelow)He
could not confirm how many individuals, businesses or countries were implicated, but confirmed some of the organisations
that fell victim to the syndicate are Australian. "It is rare to have cyber criminals of this status
domestically", he said. "The men are internationally significant cybercrime threat actors."Young
cybercriminals commonCommenting on the young age of the alleged offenders, Commander Marshall said it was unfortunate,
but not unusual, to arrest people in their early twenties, and even high-schoolers, for cybercrime.AI safeguards failing
to keep upThe British government's AI Security Institute has released a report showing AI models from OpenAI and
Anthropic had, in test conditions, engaged in "harmful activity directed at real people and
organisations"."We do see a lot of young offenders involved in cybercrime … some of them are exceptionally
smart," he said."They've grown up in a cyber-native environment, and for whatever reason they've
decided to go down that pathway."During the bail application, Mr Thomson's lawyer Nick Scerri told the court a
trial could be more than 18 months away, and that his client could be released to stay with his parents in Cottesloe.The
arrests were the result of an investigation by the Australian Federal Police, the Western Australian Police and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (ABC News: Callum Liddelow)The magistrate said she was not going to grant bail,
expressing concern that Mr Thomson may be able to tamper with evidence.Mr Scerri withdrew the bail application, which
may now be heard on another day.Mr Gaebler's lawyer made no application for bail and his client was remanded in
custody for his next appearance on September 18.Police said they have already extracted 100 terabytes of data from
devices seized from one address, and expect to extract much more.They say there may be more arrests as investigations
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