A Gomel resident is suspected of involvement with a hacker group that distributed the GandCrab ransomware and demanded a ransom in the cryptocurrency DASH. According to the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ website.
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Authorities say the suspect infected more than a thousand computers with the ransomware. For decrypting the data, he demanded about $1,200 in cryptocurrency. His victims included users from hundreds of countries, including the United States, India, EU member states, Ukraine and Russia.
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Typically, hackers demanded a ransom of between $400 and $1,500. If payment was not made within the indicated period, the amount doubled.
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According to available data, altogether criminals, active in 2017-2018, distributed GandCrab to more than 54 thousand computers worldwide.
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Total earnings from the illicit activity amounted to over $2 billion, the hackers reported on one of the darknet forums.
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Belarusian law enforcement identified the hacker with the assistance of cyber police from the United Kingdom and Romania.
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A criminal case has been opened against the suspect for distributing malicious software.
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As GandCrab emerged in 2018, experts say hackers accepted DASH due to the cryptocurrency’s high degree of anonymity.
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