Cybercriminals connected to Evil Corp, a prolific, long-standing Russian hacker group, have been targeted with new UK sanctions, in coordinated action alongside the US and Australia, the UK revealed Tuesday.
Known for their Mafia style of operation, Evil Corp has waged a campaign of destructive cyber-attacks worldwide for over a decade, said a UK Foreign Ministry statement.
This includes malware and ransomware attacks against UK health, government and public sector institutions, as well as private commercial technology companies. Their attacks have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit profits worldwide, it noted, pointing out that the sanctioned will now be subject to a series of asset freezes and travel bans.
“I am making it my personal mission to target the Kremlin with the full arsenal of sanctions at our disposal,” said Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.
“Putin has built a corrupt mafia state with himself at its center. We must combat this at every turn, and today’s action is just the begin
ning.
“Today’s sanctions send a clear message to the Kremlin that we will not tolerate Russian cyber-attacks – whether from the state itself or from its cyber-criminal ecosystem.” Meanwhile, Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said: “Cyber-crime causes immense damage to people and business across the world but today’s action is evidence that there are serious consequences for those involved.
“We will continue to work with our international partners to pursue and expose malicious cyber activity and protect the public.” Today’s sanctions build on the action taken earlier this year against a leader of associated cyber-crime group LockBit. “Alongside our allies, we will continue to crack down on malicious cyber activity and cyber-crime groups with links to Russia that seek to undermine global integrity, prosperity and security”.
Source: Kuwait News Agency