US sanctions Russians, companies over connections to cybercrimes

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (PRIME) -- The U.S. Treasury has introduced sanctions against 17 individuals and seven Russian companies due to alleged connections with cybercrimes, the authority said in a statement late on Thursday.

“Today the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against Evil Corp, the Russia-based cybercriminal organization responsible for the development and distribution of the Dridex malware,” the statement read.

The company used the malware to infect computers in more than 40 countries and obtain login data from hundreds of banks and financial institutions, stealing more than U.S. $100 million. The company’s leader Maxim Yakubets, as the authority says, was connected to multiple large-scale hacker attacks over the past several years, and is connected to the Federal Security Service.

“Yakubets is the subject of an indictment and criminal complaint unsealed today by the Department of Justice, while the Department of State announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of Yakubets,” the statement read.

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