US seizes US$6 million in ransom payments, to charge Ukrainian over cyberattack -CNN
FILE PHOTO: LED lights and toy figures are seen in front of displayed binary code and words "Cyber attack" in this illustration taken, July 5, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
:U.S. law enforcement officials have seized US$6 million in ransom payments and the Justice Department is expected to announce it has charged a suspect from Ukraine over a July ransomware attack on an American company, CNN reported on Monday.
Yaroslav Vasinskyi, a Ukrainian national arrested in Poland last month, is to face U.S. charges for deploying ransomware known as REvil, which has been used in hacks that have cost U.S. firms millions of dollars, according to the CNN report.
Vasinskyi conducted a ransomware attack over July 4 weekend on Florida-based software firm Kaseya that infected up to 1,500 businesses around the world, according to charges the Justice Department is expected to announce later on Monday, CNN said.
Vasinskyi and another alleged REvil operative, Russian national Yevgeniy Polyanin, are expected to be charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, among other charges, the report added.
Vasinskyi, 22, is being held in Poland pending U.S. extradition proceedings, while Polyanin, 28, remains at large, CNN said.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Dan Grebler)
