Russian law enforcement agencies have arrested hackers suspected of stealing about $9 million from Royal Bank of Scotland. American authorities consider this the beginning of fruitful cooperation with the Russian Federation in the fight against cybercriminals.
Suspects in one of the world's largest bank cyber robberies have been arrested in Russia, the Financial Times reports, citing informed sources. We are talking about an incident that occurred at the end of 2008, when hackers stole about $9 million by hacking the payment processing system of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). According to the publication, the FSB arrested several people, including Viktor Pleshchuk , who was allegedly one of the masterminds of the bank robbery . FSB representatives asked the US FBI to keep information about the arrests secret so as not to frighten off other suspects in Russia who are currently wanted.
The FSB, as well as the FBI and the US Department of Justice, refuse to comment on this information, while representatives of the affected bank only noted that they continue to cooperate with the authorities in this case.
"I think we're entering a new era of genuine cooperation with the Russian authorities," said Don Jackson , a cybersecurity expert at SecureWorks. He emphasized that previously Russia was simply a “paradise for cybercriminals” due to the authorities’ soft attitude towards this kind of crime.
For the first time, American law enforcement agencies have identified this group of hackers, who are suspected of attacks on the Royal Bank of Scotland. In addition to Russian Pleshchuk, Estonian citizen Sergei Tsurikov and Moldavian citizen Oleg Kovelin are also suspected.
According to available information, a group of hackers led by Pleshchuk and Tsurikov hacked the encryption mechanism for data related to the transfer of wages to debit cards of employees of a number of companies. Over a 12-hour period, the attackers used a range of counterfeit cards to withdraw money from 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities.
Law enforcement officials call the RBS heist one of the most advanced computer hacks in history. In addition to the Russian authorities, other countries are also cooperating with the Americans. Thus, Estonian authorities discovered suspicious transfers in Tallinn and arrested Tsurikov, after which they agreed on his extradition.
The Financial Times notes that Russian laws prohibit the extradition of citizens of the country, and it is now unclear how serious Pleshchuk's punishment will be if he is found guilty. However, according to analysts, this is already a very important step in deepening cooperation with the Russian authorities - the help of Russian authorities can make the fight against cybercriminals more effective.
Let us recall that the two largest robberies in the United States involving the theft of personal data were in one way or another carried out with the participation of citizens of the Russian Federation - this is the case of a group of carders called ShadowCrew and hacker Albert Gonzalez . In both cases, no one was arrested on Russian territory.
(c) https://www.cnews.ru/news/top/fsb_arestovala_russkogo_hakera_po_zaprosu_fbr
Suspects in one of the world's largest bank cyber robberies have been arrested in Russia, the Financial Times reports, citing informed sources. We are talking about an incident that occurred at the end of 2008, when hackers stole about $9 million by hacking the payment processing system of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). According to the publication, the FSB arrested several people, including Viktor Pleshchuk , who was allegedly one of the masterminds of the bank robbery . FSB representatives asked the US FBI to keep information about the arrests secret so as not to frighten off other suspects in Russia who are currently wanted.
The FSB, as well as the FBI and the US Department of Justice, refuse to comment on this information, while representatives of the affected bank only noted that they continue to cooperate with the authorities in this case.
"I think we're entering a new era of genuine cooperation with the Russian authorities," said Don Jackson , a cybersecurity expert at SecureWorks. He emphasized that previously Russia was simply a “paradise for cybercriminals” due to the authorities’ soft attitude towards this kind of crime.
For the first time, American law enforcement agencies have identified this group of hackers, who are suspected of attacks on the Royal Bank of Scotland. In addition to Russian Pleshchuk, Estonian citizen Sergei Tsurikov and Moldavian citizen Oleg Kovelin are also suspected.
According to available information, a group of hackers led by Pleshchuk and Tsurikov hacked the encryption mechanism for data related to the transfer of wages to debit cards of employees of a number of companies. Over a 12-hour period, the attackers used a range of counterfeit cards to withdraw money from 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities.
Law enforcement officials call the RBS heist one of the most advanced computer hacks in history. In addition to the Russian authorities, other countries are also cooperating with the Americans. Thus, Estonian authorities discovered suspicious transfers in Tallinn and arrested Tsurikov, after which they agreed on his extradition.
The Financial Times notes that Russian laws prohibit the extradition of citizens of the country, and it is now unclear how serious Pleshchuk's punishment will be if he is found guilty. However, according to analysts, this is already a very important step in deepening cooperation with the Russian authorities - the help of Russian authorities can make the fight against cybercriminals more effective.
Let us recall that the two largest robberies in the United States involving the theft of personal data were in one way or another carried out with the participation of citizens of the Russian Federation - this is the case of a group of carders called ShadowCrew and hacker Albert Gonzalez . In both cases, no one was arrested on Russian territory.
(c) https://www.cnews.ru/news/top/fsb_arestovala_russkogo_hakera_po_zaprosu_fbr
