Russia seems to act as a safe harbor for ransomware spreading criminals and this is being said in an article posted by the Associated Press in Seattle Times. The article stresses on the fact that Russian Intelligence agencies are employing cyber criminals and are shielding them from prosecution by foreign nations.
It’s obvious that ransomware spreading criminals are dominated by Russian-speaking criminals and for that reason, the Vladimir Putin nation will soon face fresh sanctions from the Biden Administration.
Bugatti is one such gang that was recently exposed to the US-Europol Sting. It was revealed in the investigation that gang members were affiliated with Russia and worked with a dual motto that “Mother Russia will help” and “Love your country and nothing will happen to you”.
Kremlin argues that it has no reason to indulge in cyber warfare and what is being said in the media is a wild imagination of some journalists being funded by the west. Then who is Evil Corp…..hmm is that too an imaginative hacking group introduced by Reuters or NYT to the world…?
Karen Kazaryan, the CEO of Internet Research Institute of Moscow supported the above said theory and added that Russia encourages cyber crime with a tagline that the activity should hurt no business or individual in the country and if it is against America, it’s just fine and rewarded accordingly.
Readers of Cybersecurity Insiders should take cognizance that North Korea used to train its hacking groups to launch ransomware attacks on foreign nations to fund its nuclear ambitions. They also used to involve in spreading espionage tools or in stealing banking credentials and cryptocurrency from wallets just to fulfill the dreams of their Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
Putin led Russia might also benefit directly from ransomware crime and so is seen launching such attacks in a sophisticated manner.
To a certain extent US law enforcement in association with Ukraine and Bulgaria are trying to bust up these gangs operating outside Russia. But what about them lurking in the Russian Federation?
Well, it’s tough to act on such gangs as they are being nurtured by Kremlin.
Dmitri Alperovitch leading CrowdStrike said that the only way to fight such digital warfare is to collectively act against the nation by pressing sanctions and banning it from international trade.
Is this possible in practical….! Not at all, isn’t it…?
