The United States and United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on seven members of the Russian hacking collective Trickbot.
Trickbot, which has been active since at least 2016, started as a trojan virus designed to steal financial data. It has since transformed into a highly modular malware suite, utilized for various malicious activities, including ransomware attacks.
Officials from the US and UK state that current members of the Trickbot Group are linked to Russian Intelligence Services, aligning their actions with Russian state objectives, including targeting the US government and businesses.
The individuals facing sanctions—Vitaly Kovalev, Valery Sedletski, Valentin Karyagin, Maksim Mikhailov, Dmitry Pleshevskiy, Mikhail Iskritskiy, and Ivan Vakhromeyev—have had their assets frozen, travel bans imposed, and are prohibited from conducting transactions with US entities. Notably, Kovalev has also been charged in the US with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and eight counts of bank fraud related to a series of intrusions into victim bank accounts at various US-based financial institutions in 2009 and 2010.
Under Secretary Brian Nelson remarked, “Cyber criminals, particularly those based in Russia, seek to attack critical infrastructure, target U.S. businesses, and exploit the international financial system. The United States is taking action today in partnership with the United Kingdom because international cooperation is key to addressing Russian cybercrime.”
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