Serbian Hacker Arrested While on Vacation in Primorje
Georgije V. (33) from Novi Sad is suspected of breaking into systems of the Ministry of Interior, Tax Administration, and other key institutions. Investigators suspect ties to BIA.
Georgije V. (33) from Novi Sad is suspected of breaking into systems of the Ministry of Interior, Tax Administration, and other key institutions. Investigators suspect ties to BIA.
A Serbian citizen, Georgije V. (33), owner of a computer programming company in Novi Sad, was arrested on July 28, 2026, in the early afternoon hours in a well-known tourist destination in Primorje. The arrest took place in front of his family members, his wife, two minor children, and mother, with whom he had arrived in Croatia by car a few days earlier for a vacation.
After Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić publicly intrigued the public a few days ago by announcing work on a major case concerning national security, Jutarnji list has learned that this is indeed the case in question. There are serious suspicions of a connection between the arrested man and the Security Information Agency (BIA), the Serbian secret service.
According to information gathered by the Cyber Security Service of the Criminal Police Directorate, Georgije V. skillfully broke into the systems of the Ministry of Interior, REGOS, HAKOM, HZZO, HZMO, the Ministry of Finance (Tax Administration), and HAK. Additionally, he bypassed the security of the e-Citizens system through NIAS, in a very simple manner, he obtained access credentials from a private individual in Croatia.
He accessed the selected targets via servers in Sweden, with the company headquartered in Belize, which also rents servers in Finland, Germany, and the USA. In addition to the Swedish server, he also entered the systems from an IP address in Serbia through a Serbian internet service provider. Investigators suspect that he also selected a company from central Croatia, which had merged with Hrvatski Telekom, as one of his targets for data browsing.
His skill is evident from the fact that he entered the Ministry of Interior's system on April 1, 2026, and the Ministry only discovered the unwanted visitor 12 days later. While the investigation and IP address tracing were ongoing, the police received a tip from the Tax Administration about breaches that occurred from April 28 to 30, 2026.
According to unofficial information, the arrested man told investigators that his company employs several people, although official records list only one employee. With this move, he tried to shift suspicion onto his own employees. When that failed, and the court ordered a one-month pre-trial detention on three separate grounds, he decided to offer a bail of 20,000 euros and a mortgage on the family house in Novi Sad, which he stated is owned by his mother.
During the arrest, based on court orders, the police searched his electronic devices, vehicle, and premises, and seized two mobile phones and a laptop full of data linking him to the criminal offenses.
"An appeal has been filed against the decision to impose pre-trial detention, as we believe that not all legal prerequisites for such a decision have been met. At this moment, I cannot provide details of the defense because the proceedings are in the investigation phase, which is confidential. I can only say that we will take all legal measures to protect the rights and interests of our client and ensure that the proceedings are conducted solely in accordance with the law and evidence," Nera Gajdarov Beg, the suspect's attorney, told Jutarnji list.
Georgije V. admitted to Croatian prosecution authorities that in 2012, he was convicted at the Special Court in Belgrade for unauthorized access to a protected computer. The investigation should now determine whether the arrested man is indeed a collaborator of the Serbian intelligence service. If proven true, this would be one of the few publicly known cases of state-sponsored cyberattacks organized by the Serbian intelligence service. Until now, such attacks on targets in Croatia have mostly come from Russia, and earlier from China.
