A 21-year-old hacker who blackmailed several companies by threatening to sell stolen information has been jailed by judges in Amsterdam for four years, one suspended.

Pepijn van der S was tracked down after one of his victims, a company that supplied software to garages, went to the police. Van der S was trying to sell stolen information from the company, RDC, online via a website called RaidForums for the second time.

The hacker had previously persuaded RDC to pay him some € 100,000 worth of bitcoin to stop him from spreading the information.

Jobs platform Homefun also paid Van der S one bitcoin for his silence, then worth around €60,000. In that case, too he promised to destroy the information, but did not.

In total, at least 12 companies made formal police complaints after being approached by Van der S, but the real number is likely to be far higher, the public prosecution department said earlier.

According to RTL Nieuws, Van der S worked for cyber security company Hadrian and was a volunteer for the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure where he helped companies protect themselves against hacking.

RaidForums has since been closed down in an international police operation.