Russia takes down REvil hacking group at U.S. request - FSB

[douglas9]

Source: Reuters

MOSCOW, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Russia has conducted a special operation against ransomware crime group REvil at the request of the United States and has detained and charged the group's members, the FSB domestic intelligence service said on Friday.

The arrests were a rare apparent demonstration of collaboration between Russia and the United States, at a time of high tensions between the two over Ukraine. The announcement came even as Ukraine was responding to a massive cyber attack that shut down government websites, though there was no indication the incidents were related. read more

A joint police and FSB operation searched 25 addresses, detaining 14 people, the FSB said, listing assets it had seized including 426 million roubles, $600,000, 500,000 euros, computer equipment and 20 luxury cars.

Russia had informed the United States directly of the moves it had taken against the group sought by Washington, the FSB said on its website. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it could not immediately comment.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/russia-arrests-dismantles-revil-hacking-group-us-request-report-2022-01-14/

[Cetacea]

1. Interesting.

Hopefully election-related troll farms will be next.

[Dr. T]

2. Putin's lapdog (the defeated ex president)

isn't there to coddle him. Could it be that Puty decided he'd better toss Biden a bone before Biden gets him in a choke hold?

[sdfernando]

3. So what do you think Russia and the FSB

is going to do now with all the information they just grabbed?

[SKKY]

4. No they didn't.

100% guarantee Russia did none of that.

[ck4829]

5. Which means they'll be working for the FSB in about a week or two

[cstanleytech]

7. If they were not doing so already which I would not be surprised in the least to learn that

they were.

[Polybius]

6. I misread the headline as Resident Evil

[LudwigPastorius]

8. "...at the request of the United States..."

Naaah...

That's just what the mafia does when one crime family muscles in on another's territory. It's just Putin taking out some rivals.

[Marcuse]

9. Just like Saudi Arabia took down Jamal Khasoggi's killers.

[Slammer]

10. FSB

So the FSB knew who the people were and what they were doing. And just let them continue operating since they were bringing home foreign money.

Right up until there was enough foreign pressure that it was more advantageous to make that one particular group of many to stop.

Then the FSB seized the information and the money.

[orangecrush]

11. Progress

I hope.