The Russian authorities has confirmed the indictment of a 32-year-old resident, who authorities accuse of making and launching ransomware assaults. Russian prosecutors stated final week that they charged the unnamed hacker, who lives within the Russian province of Kaliningrad, with the creation of ransomware to achieve “unlawful revenue.”
The arrest of a suspected ransomware member from inside Russia’s borders is uncommon, although not extraordinary. The Russian authorities has a protracted historical past of defending its residents from U.S. regulation enforcement actions, together with indictments and extraditions related to cybercrime.
In a temporary assertion final week, the Kaliningrad prosecutor’s workplace confirmed it filed felony prices in opposition to the person with the native courts. The prosecutor’s assertion stated authorities established in January 2024 that the accused hacker “deliberate to make use of the computer virus to encrypt the information of business organizations with the next receipt of a ransom for decryption,” describing how hackers deploy ransomware.
Authorities didn’t title the suspected ransomware hacker. Russian media outlet RIA named the suspect as Mikhail Matveev, a 32-year-old resident of Kaliningrad, who’s on the FBI’s most needed checklist for allegedly launching ransomware assaults in opposition to U.S. corporations.
U.S. authorities beforehand linked Matveev — at present with a $10 million U.S. State Division bounty for data resulting in his arrest — to the Babuk, Hive, and LockBit ransomware gangs. Matveev beforehand advised TechCrunch that he “burned” his passport to keep away from getting caught whereas touring abroad by a rustic that has an extradition treaty with america — which Russia doesn’t. Matveev additionally advised TechCrunch that sanctions issued in opposition to him by the U.S. authorities signifies that Russia would probably not deport him to america to face justice.
Matveev didn’t reply to a message despatched by TechCrunch on Monday. A tweet posted by an X account recognized to be run by Matveev final posted on December 1, the primary publish on the account since mid-October.
Spokespeople for the Russian authorities in Moscow and the Russian embassy in Washington DC didn’t return emails requesting remark. The FBI didn’t remark Monday on the report of Matveev’s arrest.
U.S. authorities officers have lengthy accused Russia of taking little motion in opposition to cybercriminals who function inside its borders. U.S. intelligence chiefs reiterated earlier this yr that the U.S. and its allies would proceed to expertise ransomware assaults as a result of Russia offers “secure haven” to hackers who goal Western companies and governments.
The arrest — and public disclosure of it — of a ransomware operator in Russia is uncommon. Russian authorities arrested a number of members of the REvil ransomware gang in 2022, weeks after a cyberattack by the gang on Colonial Pipeline, a significant gasoline and oil pipeline that runs up the U.S. east coast. The cyberattack resulted in main disruption to gasoline and gas provides for greater than every week. In a uncommon assertion on the time, the Russian Federal Safety Service (often called the FSB) stated it “neutralized” the hackers’ infrastructure, successfully shutting down the ransomware operation.
Safety researchers say that 2024 is on observe to change into a record-breaking yr for earnings from ransomware assaults, and can probably change into a main precedence for the second Trump administration, which is ready to take workplace in January.
