The Biden administration issued new sanctions on Russia’s Evil Corp cyber gang in an international crackdown conducted in coordination with counterparts in Britain and Australia. The Treasury Department said it sanctioned seven people and two entities associated with Evil Corp as the Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging one gang member in connection with a ransomware attack targeting victims in Texas. “With law enforcement partners here and around the world, we will continue to put victims first and show these criminals that, in the end, they will be the ones paying for their crimes,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement on Tuesday.
Britain’s National Crime Agency branded Evil Corp the “most pervasive cybercrime group to ever have operated,” in a report authored with the FBI and Australian Federal Police on the cyber gang’s conduct. Cyber professionals and security officials have long raised concerns about Russian officers moonlighting for cybercriminal gangs, but the international investigators’ new report suggests the hacking operations are more coordinated than previously known. “Evil Corp held a privileged position, and the relationship between the Russian state and this cybercriminal group went far beyond the typical state-criminal relationship of protection, payoffs and racketeering,” the report said.
“In fact, prior to 2019, Evil Corp were tasked by Russian Intelligence Services to conduct cyber-attacks and espiona.
