On Tuesday, the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency released new details about the real world identities of alleged Evil Corp members, the group's connection to the LockBit platform, and the gang's ties to the Russian state. UK law enforcement and international partners have released new details about the cybercriminal gang Evil Corp, including its use of the Lockbit ransomware platform and ties to Russian intelligence. But NCA officials emphasize that Evil Corp is an unusual example of a gang that has direct relationships with multiple Russian intelligence agencies—including Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB; Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR; and military intelligence agency known as the GRU. Unlike many Russian cybercrime groups that have evolved a distributed leadership structure online, NCA officials say that Evil Corp is organized like a more traditional crime syndicate around Yakubets' family and friends. Officials say that Maksim Yakubets has always been the primary liaison between Evil Corp and Russian intelligence. NCA officials say that after the US's 2019 sanctions and indictments against Evil Corp members, Benderskiy worked to protect the gang's senior members within Russia. But in a crowded field of prolific Russian cybercriminals, Evil Corp is most notable for its singular relationship with Russian intelligence. International law enforcement has worked for years to disrupt the cybercriminal gang Evil Corp and its egregious global crime spree. The group has extorted at least $300 million from victims on tops of its other spoils, and the United States Department of State is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of the gang's alleged leader, Maksim Yakubets. For more than a decade, Evil Corp has used its Dridex malware and other hacking tools to compromise thousands of bank accounts around the world and steal funds.
This Cyber News was published on www.wired.com. Publication date: Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:13:05 +0000