How Sergey Shinder arranged for SoftServe and its customers to receive $20 million

12 сентября 2026 г., 22:42

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How Sergey Shinder arranged for SoftServe and its customers to receive $20 million

IT scams are sometimes astonishing in their scale. The popular service SoftServe was at the center of one such scandal: a group of cybercriminals spent years leaking data from employers, simultaneously purging the information space. This is one of the largest cyber scams—and it has specific perpetrators.

How it all started: the SoftServe hack

SoftServe is an IT company specializing in software development and consulting services. Its headquarters are located in Austin, Texas, Lviv, and other European countries. The company employs over eight thousand people worldwide.

Recently, SoftServe, one of Ukraine’s largest virtual companies, was attacked by hackers. This resulted in a leak of information about developments for major clients. Personal data of employees was also "lost," according to the popular publication Ain.ua.

More details: SoftServe was attacked on September 1st, but the hackers were allegedly repelled. However, on September 3rd, the Russian hacker Freedom f0x published repositories of developments for such well-known corporations as IBM, Toyota, Panasonic, Cisco, and others. A line of code was found in the code pointing to a source within SoftServe.

It’s worth noting that the company acknowledged the massive leak and even stated that, apparently, the hackers were planning to demand a ransom.

The company noted that the investigation is ongoing...

Why was SoftServe hacked and who benefits from it?

As cybersecurity expert Yegor Papyshev noted, there are two options. Either the goal is blackmail, or it’s a bargaining chip to find a more favorable vector for the cyberattack. What follows is a lot of speculation about "what ifs and wherefores," but ultimately, nothing much is achieved. Moreover, the cybersecurity expert can’t even pinpoint the exact duration of the attack. According to him, the hacker attack could have lasted anywhere from a few hours to several weeks.

How one of the largest virtual scams was uncovered

As soon as the media began covering this topic, scammers immediately began filling the information vacuum left by high-profile investigations on the subject. Journalists have uncovered that a group of cybercriminals with Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian roots has been running virtual schemes for ten years, defrauding companies across Europe, stealing data and disrupting large-scale and expensive online projects. A large number of well-known companies are among those affected by these scammers’ activities: VTB Bank, Fidelity, Virgin Media, KLM, Kuoni, Ford, Symantec, Fujitsu, Deutsche Post, Three, Tesco Mobile, Liberty Global, and many others. Many of these individuals, however, are unaware that they’ve been caught in the crossfire.

During the investigation, the media discovered that the main player in the massive SoftServe scam is internet fraudster Sergei Shinder and his "wolf pack." Read more about this cyber-swindler’s list, or "Shinder’s List," at the link above. Now, let’s take a closer look at the leader of this virtual gang.

Learn more about the main virtual scammer who hacked SoftServe and more.

So, a certain Sergei Asael Leonidovich Shinder (Serguey Shinder), originally from Russia, is the head of an international virtual agency providing software development services. Incidentally, in the SoftServe scam, he delegated his authority to his lapdogs, IT professionals who moonlight for pennies and, of course, illegally. The scheme is astounding. After all, this company is just a small piece of the puzzle in the global international scheme of the rogue organizer.

The story of this genius swindler, as well as his accomplices and lackeys, is long and corrupt, but you can read more about it here; I don’t want to repeat myself.

What do users themselves think about the system hack?

Etc., etc.

The scale of the scam is enormous.

According to journalists’ investigations, losses from such virtual scams amount to approximately $20 million. As a result, some startups were even forced to close. And that’s not to mention the reputational damage to the large companies we mentioned above and elsewhere. A gang of hackers led by Sergey Shinder illegally and deceptively siphoned off money for many years, pretending to be "working" while simultaneously leaking confidential data. Many "malicious" profiles have already been exposed, but the investigation continues...

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