The US, Britain and Australia have imposed sanctions on 16 members of major cybercrime gang Evil Corp

The United States, United Kingdom and Australia have announced sanctions against 16 people accused by authorities of being part of the world’s most wanted cybercrime gang. Moscow-based cybercrime group Evil Corp is accused of extorting at least $300 million from global victims, including those in healthcare, critical national infrastructure, government and other sectors.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has stated that the alleged leader of the gang is Maksim Yakubets, who was supported by his father, Viktor Yakubets. They have been charged and punished, along with several other members, including one of the group’s directors, Igor Turashev, in the US.

Further Evil Corp cybercriminals have been exposed following NCA investigations, with one exposed as an associate of LockBit, while Britain, the US and Australia unveil sanctions.

Read the full story https://t.co/MVHye4QU2T pic.twitter.com/VcXP2PquyU

— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) October 1, 2024

The information was released as part of a major multinational operation aimed at disrupting Evil Corp and another infamous hacking group, LockBit.

Evil Corp was officially founded a decade ago as a “mafia-style” crime group. The NCA alleges that they were responsible for the development and distribution of BitPaymer and Dridex, which they used to attack banks and financial institutions in more than 40 countries, stealing more than $100 million.

In 2019, Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev were sanctioned and given a $5 million bounty for his arrest by the US Department of Justice.

Other Russian individuals, including Yakubets’ brother Artem, were also named as part of the US sanctions and designations.

Britain also imposed sanctions on Yakubets’ father-in-law, Eduard Benderskiy, a former senior FSB official, and others crucial to enabling Evil Corp.’s criminal activities.

Evil Corp links to LockBit

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that Russian citizen Aleksandr Viktorovich Ryzhenkov, Yakubets’ right-hand man, had been added to the list of specially designated nationals. He is accused of using the BitPaymer ransomware to target victims across the country.

The designation blocks ownership and interests in any property the designated person has in the United States and prohibits U.S. financial institutions from engaging in certain transactions and activities with the designated person.

Yakubets reportedly worked closely with Ryzhenkov to develop some of the group’s most prolific ransomware variants. NCA investigators, who analyzed data obtained from the group’s own systems as part of Operation Cronos, found he had been involved in LockBit ransomware attacks on numerous organisations. ReadWrite reported on such a ransomware attack last November, targeting Boeing.

Russian citizen charged over series of ransomware attacks https://t.co/GZsjWaJ4e7 pic.twitter.com/mC2KyLqCI7

— FBI (@FBI) October 1, 2024

James Babbage, NCA director general for threats, said: “The action announced today has taken place in conjunction with extensive and complex investigations by the NCA into two of the most damaging cybercrime groups of all time.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy added: “Today’s sanctions send a clear message to the Kremlin that we will not tolerate Russian cyber attacks – neither from the state itself nor from its cybercriminal ecosystem.”

While FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said: “Today’s indictment sends a clear message to those who engage in cybercriminal activity – you will face serious consequences for your illegal activities and will be held accountable under the law.”

Featured image: Ideogram

The post US, UK and Australia sanction 16 members of major cybercrime gang Evil Corp appeared first on ReadWrite.