UK reveals father and son at Evil Corp hacker hub

 

The United Kingdom, United States and Australia have announced sanctions against 16 people accused by authorities of being part of the world’s most wanted cybercrime gang.

Russia-based Evil Corp is accused of stealing around $300 million in nearly a decade of hacking.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) says it can now reveal that the gang’s notorious leader, Maksim Yakubets, was supported by his father Viktor Yakubets – something he denied during the BBC interview in 2021.

The information was released as part of a large multinational operation to destroy Evil Corp and another infamous hacking group called LockBit.

Known for its mafia-like operating style, Evil Corp has waged a campaign of destructive cyberattacks across the globe for over a decade.

In 2019, Maksim Yakubets was sanctioned and a $5 million reward was placed for his arrest, along with another man called Igor Turashev.

Other Russian individuals, including Yakubets’ brother Artem, were also named as part of the U.S. sanctions and designations.

In 2021, the BBC traveled to Russia to research and interview members of the gang to get their side of the story.

In a former home of Maksim Yakubets, we found his father, who passionately defended his son by claiming that he was personally innocent.

But the NCA now says Yakubets senior was a major part of the cybercrime group, accusing him of helping the gang launder some of its stolen funds.

Maksim Yakubets lived what was described as a playboy lifestyle in Moscow
In addition to members of the Yakubets family, Maksim’s father-in-law was also sanctioned for helping to protect and coordinate the group with his connections to the Russian security services.

Western authorities have now officially linked Eduard Benderskiy, a former high-ranking FSB official, to Evil Corp.

“Maksim Yakubets and his Evil Corp gang have lived the archetypal Russian playboy hacker lifestyle seemingly untouchable to law enforcement for years, but today’s announcement proves that we are still watching, digging and determined to destroy them and bring them to justice,” said Will Lyne, Head of Cyber ​​Intelligence at the NCA.

● LockBit connections

Another of those sanctioned is Aleksandr Ryzhenkov, described by the NCA as the right-hand man of the young Yakubets and an affiliate of the infamous LockBit ransomware gang.

It is the first time an Evil Corp member has been linked to another major gang, indicating hackers are working between groups to carry out attacks.

In addition to the fines, four arrests were made, including two in the UK.

In August, the NCA executed a series of search warrants in the south of England and arrested a 46-year-old man suspected of being linked to a LockBit affiliate.

A 50-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of money laundering offences.

They were also interviewed and later released under investigation while the criminal investigation continues.

Both individuals were identified through the analysis and enrichment of data acquired during Operation Cronos, the international police operation that destroyed LockBit’s internal infrastructure.

“The action announced today took place in conjunction with extensive and complex investigations by the NCA into two of the most damaging cybercrime groups of all time,” said James Babbage, Director General of Threats at the NCA.

The NCA said Evil Corp’s links to Russian ties to the Russian state had been exposed.

“Today’s sanctions send a clear message to the Kremlin that we will not tolerate Russian cyberattacks, either by the state itself or its cybercrime ecosystem,” Foreign Minister David Lammy said. [BBC]

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