A Ukrainian hacker who belonged to the group REvil was convicted of participating in ransomware operations that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
Hacker verdict
Arrest and extradition
In October 2021, Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinsky was detained on the border of Poland and Ukraine, accused of hacking Kaseya, a Florida-based business software developer. A few months later, in March 2022, Wasinski was extradited to Dallas, Texas.
Charges and sentence
After an investigation and trial, Vasinsky was found guilty of 11 counts charges including: conspiracy to commit computer fraud, damage to protected computers and money laundering. He committed these crimes as a member of the Russian-linked hacker group REvil, which specializes in ransomware attacks.
Scope of criminal activity
Vasinsky, known by the nickname "Worker", participated in more than in 2,500 Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware attacks, causing over $700 million in damage to targeted organizations and individuals. These malware encrypted victims' data and demanded a ransom payment for decryption.
Double extortion tactics
In addition to data encryption, Vasinsky and his accomplices used double extortion tactics. They stole confidential information from systems that they encrypted, which allowed them to further blackmail victims with the threat of publishing the stolen data on the Internet.
Attack on Kaseya and other high-profile crimes
One of the most famous REvil attacks was the 2021 attack on Kaseya's VSA cloud platform used for remote monitoring and management IT systems. This affected more than 1,500 businesses, from pharmacies to gas stations. REvil also demanded ransom from Apple and other large companies.
Forfeiture of Ransom
In 2023, the US Department of Justice secured the final forfeiture of millions of dollars in ransom money, including 39.89138522 Bitcoin worth approximately $2.3 million and $6.1 million received by Vasinsky and fellow REvil member Evgeniy Polyanin from payments to ransomware victims.
Glossary
- REvil is a hacker group that specializes in ransomware attacks.
- Kaseya is a company that develops software for remote management of IT systems.
- Sodinokibi is one of the ransomware programs used by the REvil group.
- VSA (Virtual System Administrator) - Kaseya cloud platform for monitoring and managing IT systems.
- Evgeny Polyanin is another member of the REvil group.
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Discussion of the topic – Ukrainian hacker from REvil sentenced to 13 years in prison for attack on Kaseya
Ukrainian hacker Yaroslav Vasinsky was found guilty of a cyber attack on the Kaseya company and received a heavy sentence - 13 years in prison and a $16 million fine.
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Jürgen
Hackers cause serious damage to the economy. It is necessary to strengthen the cybersecurity of organizations. 💻 Victims of hacking are forced to pay millions in ransoms to restore their data.
Анджелина
Yes, it's disgusting. These criminals blackmail companies and ordinary people by threatening to publish their personal information. 😠 It is necessary to strengthen responsibility for such acts.
Дмитрий
What worries me is the participation of people from the former USSR in such groups. The lack of legal culture and moral principles is obvious. 🚫 We need to seriously work on this.
Мария
I am amazed by the scale of the attacks and the amount of damage. More than 2500 attacks on companies around the world! 😨 And a ransom of millions of dollars. This is a global cybersecurity problem.
Вальтер
Eh, when will these hackers stop? 🙄 They are arrested, and they continue their atrocities. It seems that only imprisonment can stop them. In today's world, computer-based extortion is a serious crime.
Барбара
The fact that these criminals have hacked even large companies like Apple once again shows how serious this threat is. 👩💻 I have a friend whose company suffered from such an attack. They had to pay a huge ransom.
Эрнест
I believe that the actions of the US authorities to trace and confiscate ransoms are the right step. 💰 These criminals need to be deprived of financial motivation. But the problem is global; international cooperation is needed.
Ганс
Yes, nowadays no one is safe from hacker attacks. 👺 And this despite the fact that I have long abandoned all these newfangled technologies and gadgets. Apparently, there is no reason for people to trust computers so much!