Ransomware hackers conscripted in Russia? (18 Jan, 2022)

[aardvark_admin]

This column is archived at: https://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2022/0118.shtml

Why did Russia's FSB choose last week to arrest members of the REvil ransomware gang after leaving them untouched for so long?

And was it just coincidence that cyber-attacks were launched by Russia against Ukraine government websites within days of those arrests?

Might the Tongan erruption have any knock-on affects around "The Pacific Ring of Fire" that we need to be concerned about?

What fun times these are.

[greven]

making off with crypto is all well & good, but how do they launder it into US$? Do criminal organisations take suitcases of cash to the DPRK in person, so they funnel it through the restaurants, or do they have a bank willing to ignore suspiciously large international transfers?

[phill]

strange that china recently banned crypto and mining it
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chi ... 021-09-24/

not sure the timing is enough for the fsb to be using revil to be doing it
they had already done a few attacks before now
but
they will no doubt be cooperating with the fsb in future

[greven]

strange that china recently banned crypto and mining it

It was bound to happen eventually, it is only the timing that caught the world by surprise. China doesn't like their citizens holding large sums of international currency because it weakens the government's control over them. The CCP probably also isn't too pleased about all the miners who have been caught stealing electricity at a time when China is trying to clean up their pollution problem.

[GCSBIntercepts]

There is very little evidence to support those claims.

However the Waikato DHB ranson-ware episode was and inside job.
It covered up significant stolen money by someone at the top.