Federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against 31-year-old Aleksandr Ryzhenkov on Tuesday afternoon, having originally pieced together the charges in March. The attacks are the latest ransomware crimes to make headlines in the United States ; firms, governments and private citizens across the world have scrambled to fend off and manage the increasingly common and devastating digital assaults.
“Ransomware attacks — particularly those deployed by bad actors with ties to Russia — can paralyze a company in the time it takes to open a laptop,” Leigha Simonton , U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said in a Tuesday news release.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas is committed to pursuing cybercriminals who hold data hostage, no matter where in the world they may be hiding.”
Ryzhenkov’s onslaught began in June 2017 , according to the indictment. Over the ensuing four years, Ryzhenkov, the second-in-command of Russian hacking outfit Evil Corp. , broke into the computer systems of five American companies, four headquartered in Texas , three in Dallas , according to the news release.
The Justice Department didn’t identify the victims.
Upon breaching their networks, Ryzhenkov stole the firms’ files, encrypted them, and demanded millions of dollars in ransom payments in exchange for their release. The FBI claim Ryzhenkov and his co-conspirators extorted at least $3 million, largely in the form of Bitcoin, from its targets.
The Treasury Department sanctioned Ryzhenkov, his boss, and several other members of Evil Corp. for their escapades. Federal authorities suspect the hacking cohort has ties to the Russian security establishment.
The day before the Justice Department unveiled the charges, a ransomware attack crippled a medical center in Lubbock , forcing one of the largest hospitals in West Texas to reroute ambulances to other facilities. A spate of spring cyberattacks stemming from Russia disrupted the water systems of several rural Texas towns.
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