2 years ago
Russia’s apical home quality bureau says REvil – the Russia-based ransomware pack tied to the Colonial Pipeline onslaught – has “ceased to exist” aft the bureau arrested 14 alleged members of the transgression enactment past week.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) raided 25 residences tied to REvil, seizing astir $6.8 cardinal successful assorted currencies – including cryptocurrencies. The FSB besides seized machine equipment, crypto wallets “that were utilized to perpetrate crimes” and 20 luxury cars, according to a Jan. 14 press release.
The FSB said the arrests were carried retired astatine the petition of “US authorities.”
U.S. President Joe Biden has been pressing Russian authorities to enactment against REvil and different Russian cyber criminals since last summer, erstwhile REvil pocketed $70 cardinal successful bitcoin payments aft hacking Miami-based bundle supplier Kaseya. But contempt Biden’s threats, Russia has been dilatory to instrumentality action. Last week’s arrests are the first time – astatine slightest publically – that Russian authorities person acted against 1 of the galore ransomware groups based successful Russia.
It is besides the first time successful years that U.S. and Russian quality agencies person teamed up connected a cyber transgression operation. A fewer observers of U.S.-Russian relations person highlighted that the timing of the arrests coincides with Russia’s escalating efforts to invade Ukraine.
A White House authoritative speaking connected the information of anonymity told reporters past Friday that the U.S. did not see the arrests to beryllium related to the ongoing events successful Ukraine.
Russia’s motives for tackling REvil aside, the arrests are portion of an uptick successful global collaboration against ransomware gangs. Last year, Romanian, Kuwaiti and South Korean authorities independently arrested suspected members of REvil-affiliated hacking groups.
The momentum has continued into this year.
On Jan. 17, Europol announced that it had seized 15 servers belonging to VPNLab.net, a virtual backstage web supplier that catered to cyber criminals and ransomware gangs, rendering the company’s VPN services inoperable.
Cheyenne Ligon is simply a CoinDesk quality newsman with a absorption connected crypto regularisation and policy. She has nary important crypto holdings.
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