Guns and graphic tees. New sanctions target alleged Russian cybercriminals
The two groups and their leaders are accused of providing a launching point for ransomeware attacks.
A coalition of allied countries is trying to freeze money belonging to a band of Russian cybercriminals.
On Wednesday, the United States, along with the United Kingdom and Australia, issued a new round of sanctions against two online criminal enterprises and their leaders.
Because of this move, those affiliated with the groups will not be able to send or receive money with Americans and will see any assets in the U.S. – or even traveling through the U.S. – seized.
The first target of Wednesday’s sanctions is the innocuous-sounding Media Land LLC. Based in St. Petersburg, the U.S. Department of the Treasury accuses them of providing so-called bulletproof hosting services that provide a launchpad for ransomware operations.
Put another way, bulletproof hosting is essentially computer infrastructure that welcomes its use by cybercriminals and evades government efforts to shut it down.
Media Land advertised its hosting capabilities on cybercriminal forums, U.S. officials say. Below are the pictures of Media Land leaders Aleksandr Volosovik, Yulia Pankova, and Kirill Zatolokin, who is seen with a gun. Zatolokin is also wearing a shirt that says “Media Land” in Russian Cyrillic letters.
In addition to Media Land, the multinational government coalition is also slapping new sanctions on Hypercore Ltd., a company believed to be a rebrand of the notorious Aeza Group (previously sanctioned), which is accused of facilitating large-scale cybercrime.
The challenge in these new sanctions – and others against alleged cybercriminals – is whether they will amount to anything more than a symbolic punishment. Cybercriminals are often incredibly effective at evading sanctions through tactful virtual strategies. This includes the use of cryptocurrency to shelter or hide assets that would otherwise be easily blocked and frozen by American banks and other financial institutions.
In fact, a 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office found that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “pose risks to implementing and enforcing U.S. sanctions.”
However, the report also notes that transactions in cryptocurrencies are all on a public ledger, accessible to anyone looking for the illegal transfer of money. This begs the question: are government agencies putting enough resources forward to make sure sanctions stick?