The alleged hacker got arrested in Poland by police forces. The US identified another top REvil member named Yevgeniy Polyanin.

Cybercrime is a serious problem to the country and threatens the health of the US economy, and it is a national security issue. These were the words of the US Attorney General, Merrick B. Garland when he revealed to media outlets the capture of a leader of the hacking group known as REvil.

The prosecutor highlighted that the Polish police forces arrested Yaroslav Vasinskyi, who would be one of the first members of REvil, at the request of the United States of America on October 8.

Vasinskyi received charges of conspiring, intentionally damaging protected computers, and extorting money in connection with that damage, as well as conspiring to commit money laundering.

Additionally, Garland highlighted that they had already requested the extradition of the alleged hacker to the United States, based on an agreement they have with the European country.

Cybercriminals Always Aim at Bitcoin

Ransomware attack groups such as REvil carry out their illicit activities with various methods. One of these methods consists of extorting and requesting payments in bitcoin (BTC) or privacy-based cryptocurrencies.

One attack of this type happened to Miami-based tech company Kaseya on July 2. On that occasion, the REvil group requested at least USD 70 million in bitcoin to release the stolen information.

Days later, an announcement came to light and revealed that the company received a universal key to decode the data of the companies and public organizations that got affected by the attack.

The advance of the United States of America against cyber-criminal groups gets framed in a decision by the current president of that country, Joe Biden, giving a priority similar to that of terrorist activities.

The US authorities also opened a rewards program offering up to USD 10 million for information that leads to the identification or location of any person who occupies a key leadership position” in the hacker group.

The US Seized $ 6 Million Ransomware Attacks

Prosecutor Garland said his country not only persecutes the people that carry out the attacks. They would also work hard to recover the funds stolen by the hackers to return them to their rightful owners.

In that sense, the representative revealed that they identified another alleged member of REvil. The Russian citizen Yevgeniy Polyanin, from whom USD 6 million got confiscated during the proceeds of the ransom for an alleged ransomware attack, is the identified member of REvil.

According to the United States Department of the Treasury, the seizure happened after the sanction of the cryptocurrency exchange Chatex, with roots in Latvia. Chatex is the exchange that helped to launder digital assets from attacks with many ransomware variants.

There is already a formal accusation by the United States of America against Polyanin. The alleged hacker got blamed for carrying out 3,000 ransomware attacks, affecting companies and entities in that European country.

By: Jenson Nuñez

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