Security News > 2022 > January > Russia Arrests REvil Ransomware Gang Responsible for High-Profile Cyber Attacks

In an unprecedented move, Russia's Federal Security Service, the country's principal security agency, on Friday disclosed that it arrested several members belonging to the notorious REvil ransomware gang and neutralized its operations.

One of the most active ransomware crews last year, REvil took responsibility for high-profile attacks against JBS and Kaseya, among a string of several others.

The U.S. government told Reuters that one of the arrested individuals was also behind the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May 2021, once again confirming REvil's connections to another group called DarkSide.

The next month, Romanian law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of two individuals for their roles as affiliates of the REvil ransomware family, even as the U.S. charged a 22-year-old Ukrainian citizen linked to the ransomware gang for orchestrating the Kaseya ransomware attack.

It remains to be what impact the arrests will have on the larger ransomware ecosystem, which has by and large continued to flourish despite a number of law enforcement actions, partly driven by Russia's willingness to look the other way when it comes to harboring cybercriminals in the country, effectively allowing the bad actors to operate with impunity.

"While we are still looking to understand the true impact of these arrests, we applaud the Russian government for the actions it took today with regard to the REvil criminal ransomware group," Matt Olney, director of threat intelligence and interdiction at Cisco Talos, said.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/01/russia-arrests-revil-ransomware-gang.html