DOJ says ransomware gang tapped into Russian government databases


A U.S. court has sentenced Latvian hacker Deniss Zolotarjovs to more than eight years in prison following his conviction for carrying out ransomware attacks.

The Justice Department accused the hacker of working for a notorious Russian ransomware gang called Karakurt, which was led by former leaders of the Akira and Conti ransomware gangs, who were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for their alleged links to Russian intelligence. Prosecutors said members of Karakurt targeted U.S. government entities with attacks that disrupted 911 emergency dispatch systems, and also stole children’s health information. Zolotarjovs was responsible for “escalating pressure” on victims who resisted the gang’s ransom demands, the DOJ said.

Read more…
Source: TechCrunch News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • U.S. Department of Defense Employee Charged with Unlawful Retention of Classified Documents

    June 24, 2025

    A civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) was arrested and made her initial court appearance yesterday to face charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. Ewa Maria Ciszak, 64, of Huntsville, Alabama, is charged with knowingly removing and retaining classified documents and materials. According to court documents unsealed today in the ...

  • SparkKitty, SparkCat’s little brother: A new Trojan spy found in the App Store and Google Play

    June 23, 2025

    In January 2025, Kaspersky researchers uncovered the SparkCat spyware campaign, which was aimed at gaining access to victims’ crypto wallets. The threat actor distributed apps containing a malicious SDK/framework. This component would wait for a user to open a specific screen (typically a support chat), then request access to the device’s gallery. It would then use ...

  • Chaos ransomware hits Optima Tax Relief, leaks 69GB of data

    June 21, 2025

    Cyberattacks on financial service providers are no longer isolated events. In recent years, tax preparation companies, accounting software vendors and data brokers have all found themselves in the crosshairs of increasingly aggressive ransomware gangs. These attacks don’t just disrupt operations but also expose deeply personal financial information that can fuel identity theft, fraud and long-term reputational ...

  • Resurgence of the Prometei Botnet

    June 20, 2025

    In March 2025, Unit 42 researchers identified a wave of Prometei attacks. Prometei refers to both the botnet and the malware family used to operate it. This malware family, which includes both Linux and Windows variants, allows attackers to remotely control compromised systems for cryptocurrency mining (particularly Monero) and credential theft. This article focuses on the ...

  • Canadian Centre for Cyber Security/FBI: People’s Republic of China cyber threat activity

    June 20, 2025

    The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are warning Canadians of the threat posed by People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored cyber threat actor tracked in industry reporting as Salt Typhoon. The Cyber Centre previously joined our partners in warning that PRC cyber actors have compromised ...

  • M&S cyber attack deepens as tech partner TCS denies blame

    June 20, 2025

    Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the tech firm at the centre of speculation around the M&S cyber attack, has claimed that none of its systems or users were compromised in the incident. The statement, delivered at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, is the first public comment from the group since M&S was hit by a major cyber ...