US and UK impose sanctions on Russian hackers from Evil Corp

The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have announced sanctions against individuals associated with Russia. We are talking about the Russian cybercrime group Evil Corp.

RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to the press service of the US Treasury Department and the British government.

“Today's trilateral action underscores our collective commitment to protecting against cybercriminals who seek to undermine our critical infrastructure and threaten our citizens,” said Bradley Smith, Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Combating Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The agencies noted that the founder and leader of the group, Maksym Yakubets, committed cybercrimes and disguised them as work at the National Engineering Corporation, founded by the son of a member of the Russian Security Council, Igor Chaika.

It is worth noting that Evil Corp and Yakubets were included in the US sanctions list back in 2019. Today, the US Treasury announced the imposition of restrictions on seven individuals and two legal entities associated with Russian cybercriminals.

Among the individuals subject to sanctions:

• Eduard Bendersky, an “assistant to a State Duma deputy” and former FSB officer;

• Yakubets' friend Oleksandr Ryzhenkov.

An investigation was launched in the United States against the latter on suspicion of using BitPaymer ransomware against American citizens.

For its part, the United Kingdom has included 16 people associated with Evil Corp - including Yakubets, Bendersky and Ryzhenkov - on its sanctions list.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 02/10/2024