Jakarta. A man formerly employed at an online lending platform has been apprehended for reportedly selling the personal data of over 20,000 customers from his previous workplace to a dark website named Breachforums, police announced on Monday.

The individual, identified by the initials MRGP, is an 18-year-old resident of Tebet, South Jakarta.

"He possessed the data during his tenure at an online lending platform from 2017 to 2020," said Chief Commissioner Ade Safri Simanjuntak, the director of the special crime division at the Jakarta Police.
 
Subsequent to his departure from the internet banking company, MRGP worked for a gambling website in Cambodia until his dismissal last September.

The motivation behind the breach of personal data was financial gain and a desire for retribution against his former employers, the officer said.

The police initially unearthed the illicit trade involving the personal data of credit card holders on Breachforums.is, with further investigation culminating in the arrest on August 8, according to Ade.

He didn’t disclose how much the suspect had earned from the transactions.

The suspect faces charges under the electronic transaction and information law, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.