US authorities today indicted the alleged leader of the Russian cybercrime group Evil Corp and ordered the assets of 17 of its associates to be frozen for hacking attacks in which they stole more than $XNUMX million from companies around the world.
As part of the operation against Evil Corp, which officials described as one of the most harmful criminal organizations on the Internet, a reward of five million dollars has been offered for information that can lead to the arrest of its alleged leader Maksim Jakubec, Reuters reported.
British authorities described Jakubec, 32, as a car enthusiast, whose "Lamborghini" license plates read "thief" in Russian and who ran the operation from the basement of Moscow cafes, according to Reuters.
"Jakubec is a true criminal of the 21st century," said US Deputy Attorney General Brian Benckovski. “He's earned a spot on the FBI's list of the world's most wanted cybercriminals.” Evil Corp. is said to be behind the ever-expanding family of malicious malware known as Dridex, which has been attacking banks and businesses since 2011. The targets were smaller firms and organizations that lack sophisticated cyber protection, US officials said. The BBC reports that schools and religious organizations were also hacked. Losses amount to $70 million in the US alone.
The US Departments of Treasury and Justice cooperated with the UK's Organized Crime Agency (NCA).
In addition to companies in those countries, France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, India and Malaysia were also targeted.
Highlighting the alleged links between the cybercriminal and the Russian state, the US Treasury Department said that Jakubec also worked for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and stole classified material on behalf of Moscow.
Jakubec's close associate Igor Turashev was also indicted today in the US for allegedly holding various positions in the group. British authorities said they had already arrested and convicted eight other members of the group.
Reuters states that this is at least the second major action by the US authorities and their allies against Evil Corp. In a 2015 indictment, Jakubec and Turashev were charged with a series of frauds and hacking attacks, but they were never arrested and, after a short hiatus, Dridex continued to steal the money.
John Shear, an expert at Sophos, a British cyber security company, believes that today's attempts are the most powerful, but he expressed doubt that Jakubec will ever be brought to justice. “What are the chances that this guy will face trial in the United States? "Probably zero," Shir said.
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