Security News > 2021 > June > Latvian Woman Charged in US With Role in Cybercrime Group
A Latvian woman has been charged with developing malicious software used by a cybercrime organization that infected computers worldwide and looted bank accounts of millions of dollars, the Justice Department said Friday.
Alla Witte is charged as part of a 47-count indictment with participating in an organization known as the Trickbot Group, which authorities say operated in Russia and several other countries.
The group is accused of infecting millions of computers worldwide with malware that targeted hospitals, schools, governments, businesses and other entities.
The prosecution, which the Justice Department says is part of its newly developed ransomware task force, comes as the Biden administration confronts a growing scourge of ransomware attacks that have targeted crucial supply chains including meat and fuel.
The indictment accuses Witte of participating in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from entities across the world by infecting computers with malware that captured personal information - such as credit card numbers and passwords - and gave TrickBot members access to the victims' networks.
Prosecutors say Witte worked as a malware developer for the group, writing code related to ransomware that told victims that they'd need to acquire special software to decrypt their files.