MVD Identifies Suspects in Cryptocurrency Extortion Against Russian Organisations

Law-enforcement authorities in Primorsky Krai have opened a criminal case against the alleged organiser of a fraudulent group that gained access to the systems of various Russian organisations and demanded a cryptocurrency ransom for their unlocking. The information is reported by «МВД Медиа».

According to investigators, the attackers identified vulnerable computer systems of organisations and disabled protection using malware. By attempting logins and passwords to user accounts, they obtained access “to legally protected computer information, remotely blocked and modified it”.

Subsequently they contacted the victims and promised to unlock the data for a cryptocurrency reward.

This scheme netted the fraudsters more than 4.5 million rubles.

Authorities suspect a resident of the city of Nakhodka led the group. Law-enforcement officers believe he drew his son and three local residents into illegal activity.

Initially, 42 criminal cases were opened against the alleged organiser; they were later consolidated into a single proceeding.

Criminal cases against possible accomplices were separated into a separate proceeding, the RF Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

According to data from ESET, from May to August 2021 one in ten cryptocurrency-related fraud cases occurred in Russia.

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