US sanctions Russian cybercrime group ‘Evil Corp’

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on October 1 against seven individuals and two entities associated with Evil Corp, a Russia-based cybercrime group.

The Treasury sanctions coincided with a U.S. Department of Justice indictment against an Evil Corp member, as well as additional measures from the U.K. and Australia.

According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, Evil Corp is “responsible for the development and distribution of Dridex malware.”

“Evil Corp used Dridex malware to infect computers and steal login credentials of hundreds of banks and other financial institutions in more than 40 countries, causing more than $100 million in losses and damages to U.S. and international financial institutions and their clients,” Miller added.

Evil Corp leader and founder Maksim Yakubets was first sanctioned by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2019. At the same time, the Justice Department indicted Yakubets and a another member of Evil Corp and issued a $5 million reward for providing leading information. to their capture and subsequent conviction.

“Today’s trilateral action underscores our collective commitment to protecting ourselves against cybercriminals like ransomware perpetrators, who seek to undermine our critical infrastructure and threaten our citizens,” said Treasury official Bradley Smith.

In its statement, Treasury noted that Yakubets and other Evil Corp members had ties to Russian politicians and other government figures.

Yakubets is also employed by the Russian National Engineering Corporation (NIK), which Treasury said he uses as a “cover for his ongoing criminal activities related to Evil Corp.”

The UK’s National Crime Agency further stated that one of the newly sanctioned Evil Corp members, Eduard Benderskiy, a former member of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), “used his great influence with the Russian state to protect the group.”

Before 2019, Russian intelligence “commissioned Evil Corp to carry out cyberattacks and espionage operations against NATO allies,” the UK said.

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