Allium UPI is the parent company of the Apotheka pharmacy chain.

Based on evidence collected in the criminal proceedings, 25-year-old Moroccan citizen Adrar Khalid is suspected of illegally downloading data from the Allium UPI database, in February 2024.

Reemo Salupõld, head of the investigation group at the Central Criminal Police's cybercrime bureau, said there is reason to suspect that Khalid gained access to the database by logging in with an account that came with administrator privileges. How the suspect came to obtain the password for that account is still under investigation.

Salupõld said: "Regardless of how long and complex a password is, this case clearly shows that this is no longer sufficient on its own today. Cybercriminals are finding increasingly ingenious ways to access accounts, which is why we recommend everyone use two-factor authentication – this adds an extra layer of protection that can be crucial if a password does get leaked or ends up in the wrong hands."

So far, the police have not identified any misuse of downloaded data.

The Prosecutor General's office requested the suspect's arrest, which the first-tier Harju County Court granted and issued an arrest warrant for in respect of Khalid.

The Central Criminal Police filed the suspect on an international wanted list. If he is detained in another country under that arrest warrant, that state may allow Estonia to extradite him for prosecution.

The cybercrime bureau has over the past year identified suspects behind several major recent cyberattacks. In addition to this latest case, the Central Criminal Police has declared wanted on an international basis several citizens of the Russian Federation suspected of being involved in cyberattacks against Estonian government agencies five years ago, and a Russian citizen who orchestrated the Asper Biogene data theft two years ago.

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