- UK and US sanctions have been imposed on several Trickbot members
- The cybercrime gang has connections to Russian intelligence services
- Trickbot has amassed millions in crypto from its destructive actions
Several Trickbot members, a notorious Russian cybercrime gang with significant ties to Russian intelligence services, have been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the United States as part of the first coordinated action against international cybercrime.
These persons have been linked to the development or deployment of many ransomware strains that targeted the United Kingdom and the United States.
Trickbot has amassed at least $724 million in crypto from its destructive actions, making it the second-largest cybercrime organization in terms of revenues, just behind North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, said:
By sanctioning these cybercriminals, we are sending a clear signal to them and others involved in ransomware that they will be held to account.
These cynical cyber attacks cause real damage to people’s lives and livelihoods. We will always put our national security first by protecting the UK and our allies from serious organized crime – whatever its form and wherever it originates.
Vitaly Kovalev, commonly known as Bentley or Ben, is said to be a senior operator inside the Trickbot gang, having a history of cybercrime prior to joining the gang.
Maksim Mikhailov, a programmer known as Baget, Mikhail Iskritskiy, known as Tropa, who is accused of running a money laundering scheme, Dmitry Pleshevskiy, who is a coder called Iseldor, Ivan Vakhromeyev, a manager known as Mushroom, and Valery Sedleski, an administrator known as Strix, are among the other members sanctioned.
In other news, the original bitcoin (BTC) trading platform, LocalBitcoins, has announced its demise after around 11 years of existence.
Today, February 9, the announcement was made public on the official LocalBitcoins website. LocalBitcoins will no longer accept new user registrations as of today.
Existing users will only have one week remaining to trade bitcoins on the platform. On February 16, both trading and deposits will cease. The site will thereafter allow users to withdraw their assets.
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