Security News
More than a dozen members of the REvil ransomware group have been arrested courtesy of the Russian government. The Biden administration has been pressuring Russia to take ransomware and its perpetrators seriously, especially amid allegations that groups like REvil have operated with at least the tacit permission of the former Soviet Union.
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation says that they shut down the REvil ransomware gang after U.S. authorities reported on the leader.REvil ransomware emerged in April 2019 from the void left behind by the shut down of the GandCrab operation.
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation says that they shut down the REvil ransomware gang after U.S. authorities reported on the leader. More than a dozen members of the gang have been arrested following police raids at 25 addresses, the Russian security agency says in a press release today.
Ukrainian police officers have arrested a ransomware affiliate group responsible for attacking at least 50 companies in the U.S. and Europe. A 36-year-old resident of Ukraine's capital Kiev was identified as the leader of the group, which included his wife and three other acquaintances, the police states.
According to a Department of Justice press release, 29-year-old Fillippo Bernardini allegedly impersonated agents, editors, and others involved in the publishing industry to steal manuscripts of unpublished books. "Filippo Bernardini allegedly impersonated publishing industry individuals in order to have authors, including a Pulitzer prize winner, send him prepublication manuscripts for his own benefit," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Ukrainian law enforcement arrested 51 suspects believed to have been selling stolen personal data on hacking forums belonging to hundreds of millions worldwide, including Ukraine, the US, and Europe. "As a result of the operation, about 100 databases of personal data relevant for 2020-2021 were seized," the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine said.
Romanian law enforcement authorities arrested a ransomware affiliate suspected of hacking and stealing sensitive info from the networks of multiple high-profile companies worldwide, including a large Romanian IT company with clients from the retail, energy, and utilities sectors. The apprehended ransomware affiliate stole a wide range of sensitive info from its targets' systems according to the Romanian National Police, including companies' financial information, employees' personal information, and customers' details.
Investigations that ran in parallel over nearly two years by Canadian and U.S. law enforcement have led to this week's arrest of an Ottawa man, who is alleged to have an extensive track record of ransomware attacks on companies, governments and individuals. The highly-publicized arrest is a message to North American ransomware operators - law enforcement is on the case.
An operation coordinated by INTERPOL codenamed HAECHI-II saw police arrest more than 1,000 individuals and intercept a total of nearly $27 million of illicit funds, underlining the global threat of cyber-enabled financial crime. HAECHI-II is the second operation in a three-year project to tackle cyber-enabled financial crime supported by the Republic of Korea and the first that is truly global in scope, with the participation of INTERPOL member countries on every continent.
A joint four-month operation coordinated by Interpol, the international criminal police organization, has culminated in the arrests of more than 1,000 cybercriminals and the recovery of $27 million in illicit proceeds. Codenamed "HAECHI-II," the crackdown enabled law enforcement units from across 20 countries, as well as Hong Kong and Macao, close 1,660 cases alongside blocking 2,350 bank accounts linked to the fraudulent illicit funds amassed from a range of online financial crimes, such as romance scams, investment fraud, and money laundering associated with illegal online gambling.