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A Russian man has been charged by US authorities with alleged links to multiple ransomware schemes that netted him and other attackers nearly $200 million – much of which came via crypto.
Victims of those ransomware attacks included hospitals, schools and police departments.
$200 million in ransomware payments
The perpetrator – Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev – was part of three ransomware gangs: LockBit, Babuk and Hive. Collectively, they have received nearly $200 million from victims after demanding more than $400 million, according to each figure. Department of Justice,
The department noted that Matveev was known online by several aliases, including “Wazwaka”, “M1X”, “Boriselsin”, and “Uhodiransomwa”.
In the DOJ statement, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Kenneth A. “These transnational crimes demand a coordinated response,” Polite, Jr. said. “We will not relent in imposing consequences on the most egregious actors in the cybercrime ecosystem.”
Some of Mateev’s alleged crimes include helping deploy the Babuk ransomware against the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. in April 2021, as well as a New Jersey non-profit behavioral healthcare organization in May 2022.
In the former case, the offender and his co-conspirators threatened to reveal sensitive material to the public if payment was not made. Babuk ransomware actors have carried out at least 65 attacks worldwide since December 2020, demanding $49 million in payments, and receiving at least $13 million.
In January 2022, cyber security journalist Brian Krebs reported that Matveev claimed affiliation with the Darkside ransomware groups, according to Bloomberg, Darkseid was responsible for the 2021 ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, which extorted 63.7 BTC to the attackers.
Role of crypto in ransomware
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have become a popular tool for conducting ransomware attacks since 2021. Unlike traditional bank transfers, hackers can easily remain anonymous when requesting payment in bitcoin, and such payments cannot be reversed or repossessed by a bank or government.
Ransomware revenue, according to Chainalysis fell substantially to $456.8 million in 2022 compared to $765.6 million in 2021. Experts attributed this to a lack of willingness of victims to pay the ransom – especially since sanctions rules against such payments by the US Treasury Department have made them risky to conduct.
In January, the FBI announced It took down the HIVE ransomware network, which had members in North America and Europe.
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A Russian man has been charged by US authorities with alleged links to multiple ransomware schemes that netted him and other attackers nearly $200 million – much of which came via crypto.
Victims of those ransomware attacks included hospitals, schools and police departments.
$200 million in ransomware payments
The perpetrator – Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev – was part of three ransomware gangs: LockBit, Babuk and Hive. Collectively, they have received nearly $200 million from victims after demanding more than $400 million, according to each figure. Department of Justice,
The department noted that Matveev was known online by several aliases, including “Wazwaka”, “M1X”, “Boriselsin”, and “Uhodiransomwa”.
In the DOJ statement, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Kenneth A. “These transnational crimes demand a coordinated response,” Polite, Jr. said. “We will not relent in imposing consequences on the most egregious actors in the cybercrime ecosystem.”
Some of Mateev’s alleged crimes include helping deploy the Babuk ransomware against the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. in April 2021, as well as a New Jersey non-profit behavioral healthcare organization in May 2022.
In the former case, the offender and his co-conspirators threatened to reveal sensitive material to the public if payment was not made. Babuk ransomware actors have carried out at least 65 attacks worldwide since December 2020, demanding $49 million in payments, and receiving at least $13 million.
In January 2022, cyber security journalist Brian Krebs reported that Matveev claimed affiliation with the Darkside ransomware groups, according to Bloomberg, Darkseid was responsible for the 2021 ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, which extorted 63.7 BTC to the attackers.
Role of crypto in ransomware
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have become a popular tool for conducting ransomware attacks since 2021. Unlike traditional bank transfers, hackers can easily remain anonymous when requesting payment in bitcoin, and such payments cannot be reversed or repossessed by a bank or government.
Ransomware revenue, according to Chainalysis fell substantially to $456.8 million in 2022 compared to $765.6 million in 2021. Experts attributed this to a lack of willingness of victims to pay the ransom – especially since sanctions rules against such payments by the US Treasury Department have made them risky to conduct.
In January, the FBI announced It took down the HIVE ransomware network, which had members in North America and Europe.
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PrimeXBT SPECIAL OFFER: Use this link to register and enter the code CRYPTOPOTATO50 to receive up to $7,000 on your deposit.
