Britain, the United States and Australia imposed sanctions against a senior Russian leader of the cybercrime gang LockBit, British and U.S. authorities said Tuesday.
Dmitry Khoroshev was unmasked as one of the leaders of LockBit, a cybercriminal group which has stolen more than $1 billion from victims in its four-year lifespan. Britain said Khoroshev will face asset freezes and travel bans.
"These sanctions are hugely significant and show that there is no hiding place for cyber criminals like Dmitry Khoroshev, who wreak havoc across the globe,” Graeme Biggar, Britain’s National Crime Agency director general, said in a statement.
LockBit makes money by hacking into computer systems, stealing sensitive data and threatening to leak it if victims fail to pay a ransom. It has targeted more than 2,500 victims worldwide, including large companies.
Khoroshev received at least $100 million in Bitcoin payments from LockBit's activity, according to a 26-count U.S. indictment unsealed on Tuesday.
LockBit infrastructure was first seized by law enforcement in February in a campaign by the NCA, U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and Europol. The ransomware group’s site was hijacked by police and used to leak internal information about the group and its operators.
The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Khoroshev. It is offering the same award for the identification or location of other leaders in the LockBit group.
"Russia continues to offer safe harbor for cybercriminals where groups such as LockBit are free to launch ransomware attacks against the United States, its allies, and partners," a U.S. Treasury Department statement said.
Some information for this report came from Reuters.
