Polish Hacker Charged in 2018 Morele.net Data Breach Affecting 2.5 Million Customers
A 29-year-old Polish man has been charged in connection with a 2018 data breach of Morele.net, a major Polish e-commerce platform specializing in electronics and home appliances. The breach exposed the personal details of approximately 2.5 million customers, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, and MD5crypt-hashed passwords. While payment card data remained secure, around 35,000 victims had highly sensitive information such as national ID numbers, financial details, and income data compromised.
Poland’s Central Cybercrime Bureau (CBZC) filed charges on 30 January 2026, following an extensive investigation that had initially stalled before new evidence emerged. Authorities traced the attack back to the suspect, who has since admitted responsibility. The breach was later weaponized by fraudsters, who targeted victims with phishing SMS messages demanding small payments and stealing banking credentials.
Morele.net, which refused to pay a ransom, faced a €645,000 GDPR fine in 2019 for failing to detect unusual network traffic a penalty later annulled by Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court due to procedural deficiencies. The case underscores law enforcement’s growing ability to revisit cold cybercrime cases as digital forensics techniques advance. The suspect now faces potential legal consequences for the attack, which sent shockwaves through Poland’s online retail sector.
morele.net cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/morele-net
"id": "MOR1770891010",
"linkid": "morele-net",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "11/2018",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '2.5 million',
'industry': 'Retail (Electronics and Home Appliances)',
'location': 'Poland',
'name': 'Morele.net',
'type': 'E-commerce platform'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Phishing SMS messages targeting victims',
'data_breach': {'data_encryption': 'MD5crypt-hashed passwords',
'number_of_records_exposed': '2.5 million (35,000 with highly '
'sensitive data)',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Names, email '
'addresses, phone '
'numbers, home '
'addresses, national '
'ID numbers',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (national ID numbers, financial '
'details, income data)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal details',
'National ID numbers',
'Financial details',
'Income data']},
'date_detected': '2018',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2018',
'description': 'A 29-year-old Polish man has been charged in connection with '
'a 2018 data breach of Morele.net, a major Polish e-commerce '
'platform specializing in electronics and home appliances. The '
'breach exposed the personal details of approximately 2.5 '
'million customers, including names, email addresses, phone '
'numbers, home addresses, and MD5crypt-hashed passwords. '
'Around 35,000 victims had highly sensitive information such '
'as national ID numbers, financial details, and income data '
'compromised. The breach was later weaponized by fraudsters, '
'who targeted victims with phishing SMS messages demanding '
'small payments and stealing banking credentials.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Sent shockwaves through Poland’s '
'online retail sector',
'data_compromised': 'Personal details of 2.5 million customers, '
'including names, email addresses, phone '
'numbers, home addresses, and MD5crypt-hashed '
'passwords. Highly sensitive data (national ID '
'numbers, financial details, income data) for '
'35,000 victims.',
'financial_loss': '€645,000 GDPR fine (later annulled)',
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (due to exposure of national ID '
'numbers and financial details)',
'legal_liabilities': 'GDPR fine imposed (later annulled)',
'payment_information_risk': 'Low (payment card data remained '
'secure)',
'systems_affected': 'Morele.net e-commerce platform'},
'investigation_status': 'Charges filed (30 January 2026)',
'lessons_learned': 'Law enforcement’s growing ability to revisit cold '
'cybercrime cases as digital forensics techniques advance. '
'Importance of detecting unusual network traffic to '
'prevent breaches.',
'motivation': 'Financial gain (via subsequent phishing attacks)',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Failure to detect unusual network '
'traffic'},
'ransomware': {'ransom_paid': 'No (Morele.net refused to pay)'},
'references': [{'source': 'Poland’s Central Cybercrime Bureau (CBZC)'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'fines_imposed': '€645,000 (later annulled)',
'legal_actions': 'Charges filed against the suspect',
'regulations_violated': 'GDPR'},
'response': {'law_enforcement_notified': 'Yes (Poland’s Central Cybercrime '
'Bureau - CBZC)'},
'threat_actor': 'Polish hacker',
'title': '2018 Morele.net Data Breach',
'type': 'Data Breach'}