The United States government imposed sanctions on a Ukrainian and a Russian on Monday, whom it accuses of being behind cyberattacks against American companies, and offered a reward of US $ 10 million for information that leads to the arrest of those involved in a network Russian hackers.
The State and Treasury Departments of the United States announced these measures in separate communiqués.
The individuals sanctioned are the Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi and the Russian Yevgeniy Polyanin for having perpetuated “ransomware incidents“Of Sodinokibi-REvil against US targets, said the Treasury.
The Russian group REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, is one of the most prolific and profitable cybercriminal gangs in the world, with more than a million victims.
Washington believes Sodinokibi-REvil is behind this year’s cyberattacks against meat company JBS Foods and software firm Kaseya, which serves more than 40,000 organizations around the world.
According to the US Executive, Vasinskyi used “ramsonware”, A program capable of locking a computer from a remote location and hijacking its files and not releasing them until it is paid a ransom, against nine companies in the United States.
Likewise, the Government of Washington accuses him of being responsible for the cyber attack last July against Kaseya, a company based in Florida.
On the other hand, he argues that Polyanin has been behind hacking against US government institutions and private sector companies.
The Treasury Department has also sanctioned the virtual currency exchange company Chatex “for facilitating transactions “ for cyberattacks with “ramsonware”.
As a result of the measures announced this Monday, all the properties of those sanctioned under US jurisdiction are blocked and US citizens are prohibited from having transactions with them.
The State Department added that it offers a reward of US $ 10 million for any information that helps identify or locate anyone who holds a leadership position within the Sodinokibi-REvil group.
In addition, Washington offers US $ 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of individuals who participate or attempt to take part in cyberattacks orchestrated by that gang of hackers.
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