Author: James Pearson and Sachin Ravikumar
LONDON – Britain, the United States and Australia have sanctioned and exposed a senior Russian leader of notorious cybercrime gang LockBit, the British government said on Tuesday.
Dmitry Khoroshev is reportedly facing an asset freeze and travel ban after being identified as one of LockBit’s leaders. LockBit is a ransomware group that has digitally extorted more than $1 billion from victims worldwide.
“These sanctions are significant and show that cybercriminals like Dmitry Khoroshev, who wreak havoc around the world, have no place to hide. He was sure he could remain anonymous, but he was wrong,” UK National Security said Bureau Chief Graeme Biggar. The Crime Agency said in a statement.
LockBit was first disrupted by the NCA, the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and Europol in February, in an unprecedented operation that saw the gang’s darknet website hijacked by police and used to leak information about the gang and Inside information from the people behind it.
“By sanctioning one of LockBit’s leaders, we are taking direct action against those who continue to threaten global security, while exposing malicious cybercriminal activity from Russia,” UK sanctions minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in a statement.
Ransomware is malware that encrypts data; Lockbit and its affiliates make money by forcing targets to pay a ransom to decrypt or unlock that data using a digital key. The gang’s digital ransomware tools have been used against some of the world’s largest organizations.
criminal gang
Lockbit recruits its affiliates as like-minded criminal gangs to use these tools to launch attacks. These affiliates carry out the attacks and provide Lockbit with a portion of the ransom, which is often demanded in the form of cryptocurrency, making tracking more difficult.
In February this year, the United States announced charges against two Russian citizens for deploying Lockbit ransomware against companies and groups around the world. The two were also sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Prior to its seizure by law enforcement, Lockbit’s website featured a growing library of victim tissue that was updated almost daily. Next to their names are digital clocks showing how many days are left until each group’s deadline to deliver ransom.
On Tuesday, the international police agency once again used the platform against the gang itself, unmasking Khoroshev and releasing a wanted poster promising a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
According to a 26-count U.S. indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Khoroshev received at least $100 million in Bitcoin payments from LockBit activities. Reuters was unable to find contact information for Khoroshev or his lawyer.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.