Ukrainian law enforcement officers, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the United States, EU countries, and Europol, neutralized a hacker group that was attacking the networks of leading global companies with ransomware.
As stated by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, one of the leaders of the group was notified of suspicion in absentia and put on the international wanted list, and the US FBI has set a reward of up to $10 million for information on his whereabouts.
It is noted that since 2018, the suspects have attacked the servers of companies in France, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, encrypting more than 1,000 servers and causing losses of more than UAH 3 billion.
"In August 2024, the pre-trial investigation regarding one of the most active participants of the group was completed. He is accused of unauthorized interference in the operation of information systems, creating malicious software, and extortion, facing up to 12 years in prison," the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine said in a statement.
Law enforcement officers have established the structure of the group, ranging from malware developers and corporate system hackers to money launderers. The attacks used ransomware LockerGoga, MegaCortex, HIVE, and Dharma, with attackers blocking access to servers and demanding ransoms in crypto.
It is reported that several members of the network have been arrested in Ukraine as part of the investigation. Some of them have already appeared in court, and a foreigner who was on the international wanted list has been extradited to the United States.
The Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine noted that the suspect, a citizen of Ukraine, was included in the list of the most wanted persons of the European Union for large-scale cyberattacks on leading global companies, and the activities of this network led to losses in the billions of dollars worldwide.
Cyberpolice also urges citizens to check information on the official Europol website EU Most Wanted and to report any information that may help in the search, in particular, in an online format by filling out the form at the link.
Recall that recently, as a result of an international special operation in Kyiv, the developer of a hacking platform with more than 50,000 registered users was exposed. Among these users are well-known hacking groups, in particular REvil, LockBit, Conti, Qilin. Using the "services" of the forum, cybercrime attacked automated management systems of banks, government agencies and large corporations in the US and the EU. The attackers used malicious software purchased on the forum and priority access to computer networks of international companies to further extort money.
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