The US Department of Justice has charged a Russian national named Evgenii Ptitsyn with selling, operating, and distributing a ransomware variant known as “Phobos” during a four-year cybercriminal campaign that extorted at least $16 million from victims across the world.
The government’s indictment against Ptitsyn should dispel any notion that ransomware gangs only target the largest, richest, most robust corporations on the planet, as one Phobos affiliate allegedly extorted a Maryland-based healthcare provider out of just $2,300—possibly the lowest payment ever recorded. In a November 18 statement, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stressed the wanton victim targeting by Ptitsyn’s ransomware network.
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Source: Malwarebytes Labs
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