UPDATE2: Russian services detain hackers suspected in 1.7 bln rbl theft

(Adds comment in last three paragraphs)

MOSCOW, Jun 1 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Federal Security Service jointly with the Interior Ministry and the National Guard have uncovered hackers who allegedly stole 1.7 billion rubles from domestic financial companies and detained about 50 suspects from 15 regions of the country, the Federal Security Service said Wednesday in a statement.

Searches revealed computers, communication equipment, banking cards, financial documents and “huge amounts of money proving an illegal character” of the group’s activities.

The group of hackers created, distributed and used malware, the statement read. Of the total detained, 18 people were arrested. Members of the group faced charges.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said the ministry and the Federal Security Service prevented a theft of 2.273 billion rubles from financial companies. Fictitious payment orders for this amount were blocked, she said.

Antivirus maker Kaspersky Lab assisted law-enforcement authorities in detecting the criminals. The company has studied the malware and uncovered the hackers’ network infrastructure.

“During the analysis we have discovered that there was a group consisting most likely of professional developers and testers behind the revealed Trojan virus (called Lurk),” Ruslan Stoyanov, director of computer incidents department at Kaspersky Lab, said.

“Our products have always uncovered and successfully blocked malware, and we hope the arrest of its creators could finally draw Lurk use to decline.”

(65.9962 rubles – U.S. $1)

End