The US and UK authorities have imposed sanctions against seven Russian citizens suspected of cybercrimes against US and British authorities, organizations and citizens. This is stated on the websites of the US Treasury and the UK government.
Sanctions were announced against Valentin Karyagin (pseudonym Globus), Maxim Mikhailov (pseudonyms: Baget and MaxMS76), Dmitry Pleshevsky (pseudonym Isildur), Mikhail Iskritsky (pseudonym Tropa), Vitaly Kovalev (pseudonyms: Ben and Bentley), Ivan Vakhromeev (pseudonyms: Mushroom and ivanalert) and Valery Sedletsky (pseudonym Strix).
In my country blocked
present tense
All of them, according to the US Department of the Treasury, were part of the Trickbot cybercriminal group, which was engaged in the development and implementation of computer viruses used to steal financial data. The group’s activities were first identified in 2016.
Viruses developed by Trickbot have infected, according to US authorities, millions of computers around the world. In particular, during the height of the coronovirus pandemic in 2020, Trickbot attacked hospitals and medical centers, launching a wave of ransomware attacks on hospitals across the United States.
In the UK, members of the Trickbot group are suspected of creating two ransomware programs, Conti and Ryuk. The National Crime Agency has identified about 149 victims of these programs in the UK. The damage caused by them is approximately estimated at 27 million pounds.
Recently, according to the US Department of the Treasury, the Trickbot cybercriminal group has been performing tasks for the Russian intelligence services, in particular, organizing and carrying out cyber attacks on American and British government websites, as well as the website of commercial companies from the USA and Great Britain.
The cyber group is also suspected of carrying out a cyber attack on government agencies in Costa Rica in April last year, which resulted in $200 million in damage.
The British government claims that Trickbot was one of the first cybercriminal groups to support Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine.
