US Charges Russian Individuals and Firms for Running Cybercrime Services
The US Justice Department has charged three Russian nationals and two companies – ML.Cloud and Media Land – with operating cybercrime services that facilitated attacks against numerous US entities, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in losses. These services were used by a wide range of threat actors, including ransomware groups and state-sponsored entities, and the US is offering a substantial reward for information leading to the operators’ identification.
The US Justice Department has unsealed an indictment charging three Russian nationals – Aleksandr Alexandrovich Volosovik, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, and Yulia Pankova – and two companies, ML.Cloud and Media Land, for allegedly running cybercrime services. These services provided ‘bulletproof hosting,’ a type of service that shields malicious actors from attribution. The infrastructure supporting ML.Cloud and Media Land was located in countries including China, the Netherlands, Finland, and the United States. According to the DOJ, these services were utilized by a diverse range of threat actors, including profit-driven criminal gangs and state-sponsored groups. The indictment states that these services were used to carry out phishing attacks, DDoS attacks, brute-force attacks, and to host cybercrime marketplaces and forums. Authorities claim that at least 42 entities across 21 US states were targeted, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in losses. The US has previously announced sanctions against these individuals and companies, and is now offering a reward of up to $10 million and potential relocation assistance for information leading to the identification of the operators. While it’s uncommon for Russian bulletproof hosting administrators to receive prison sentences in the US, it’s not unheard of.