Evil Corp hackers: The US has taken legal action against the alleged leader and operator of a Russian gang that develops and distributes malware used to steal at least $100 million from banks and other financial institutions in more than 40 countries over the past decade.
The Treasury said it was working with Britain's National Crime Agency to freeze all assets of two Russian men as well as 15 other associates, seven Russian organizations and the hacking group Evil Corp., their alleged front.
The accused leader of Evil Corp., Maksim Yakubets, 32, of Moscow, and Igor Turashev, 38, of Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, were charged in an indictment filed in federal court in Pittsburgh. They were charged with conspiracy, hacking, wire fraud and bank fraud.
The two men have not yet been arrested and Russia-US relations do not favor their immediate arrest.
In a statement, Finance Ministry officials also accused Jakubets of recruiting cybercriminals to serve the interests of the Russian government. According to the statement, he began working for the FSB in 2017 and was assigned to work on projects involving “obtaining confidential documents through hacking attacks.”
The State Department and the FBI are offering a $5 million reward for information leading to Yakubets' arrest and conviction. Officials say it is the largest reward ever offered for an accused cybercriminal.
Prosecutors say the witch hunt began after the creation of the “Bugat” malware – also known as “Dridex” and “Kridex” – which automates the theft of credentials used to register with banks and other financial institutions.
It usually infects through phishing emails that trick users into entering their personal information on fake e-banking websites, the researchers said. The hackers then make unauthorized withdrawals.
It is worth noting that FireEye, for its part, stated in a recent email that over the past year it has seen cases where Dridex infections are used not only for cybertheft but also for distributing ransomware to infected machines.
Yakubets is also charged in a bank fraud case in Nebraska using different malware, authorities said.
