Cybercrime doesn't pay: REvil hacker receives 13-year prison sentence and $16 million fine

[midian182]

What just happened? In another example of why (cyber)crime doesn't pay, a Ukrainian hacker has been sentenced to 13 years and seven months in prison and ordered to pay $16 million over his involvement with the REvil ransomware group. Yaroslav Vasinskyi (aka Rabotnik) played a role in more than 2,500 ransomware attacks that cost targeted organizations and individuals more than $700 million.

Vasinskyi conducted thousands of ransomware attacks using the Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware, encrypting victims' systems and demanding payments in return for the decryption key.

Vasinskyi and his co-conspirators also used double-extortion tactics: stealing data from the systems they encrypted, allowing them to further blackmail any victims who refused to pay up by threatening to post their sensitive information online.

"Deploying the REvil ransomware variant, the defendant reached out across the globe to demand hundreds of millions of dollars from US victims," deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

Vasinskyi, 24, was arrested on Poland's border with Ukraine on October 8, 2021, and extradited to Dallas, Texas, in March 2022. He pleaded guilty to an 11-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The Justice Department writes that in 2023, it obtained the final forfeiture of millions of dollars worth of ransom payments. It included 39.89138522 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $2.3 million, and $6.1 million that was traced to ransomware payments made to Vasinksyi and another REvil ransomware gang member, Yevgeniy Polyanin.

One of REvil's best-known crimes was perpetrated against Kaseya's VSA cloud-based system management platform – used for remote monitoring and IT management. The 2021 attack, which exploited a zero-day bug, is thought to have impacted over 1,500 businesses, hitting everything from pharmacies to gas stations.

REvil was also behind the attacks on JBS, for which the world's biggest meat processor paid an $11 million ransom, and tech giant Acer.

REvil operates a ransomware-as-a-service plan in which it rents out the malware to other criminals for a cut of the victims' payments. At one point, those renting the malware complained that REvil was stealing their ransoms.

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Cybercrime doesn't pay: REvil hacker receives 13-year prison sentence and $16 million fine

 

[Kingkong1984]

The problem with these wanna be rich freedom fighters is they don't have friends in crime in government or financial corporations. Really sad story...imagine what folks from 2008 mortgage fraud would get if they would get caught...their defence was very strong tho... none of them admited any wrong doing

Ps. $16m? that's 684 still to go

 

[The Talking Tech]

He extorted at least $700 million but he only received a $16 million dollar fine?

So when he gets out of jail he will still have at least $500 million somewhere hidden.

I say crime does pay... simply because these criminals are still getting away with it after being put away living off people's taxes in jail and then enjoying their stolen millions afterwards.

 

[Endymio]

Vasinskyi, 24, was arrested on Poland's border with Ukraine...

Curious why most media reporting failed to note he was a Ukrainian national, and one that Ukraine had long refused to bring to justice ... it wasn't until he crossed over into Poland that Polish authorities nabbed him.

Really sad story...imagine what folks from 2008 mortgage fraud would get if they would get caught..

Eh? More than 400 defendants were charged and convicted of fraud from the 2008 crisis.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Curious why most media reporting failed to note he was a Ukrainian national, and one that Ukraine had long refused to bring to justice ... it wasn't until he crossed over into Poland that Polish authorities nabbed him.


Eh? More than 400 defendants were charged and convicted of fraud from the 2008 crisis.

Why does the story need to mention he is a Russian speaking Ukrainian . Nor does the story say this criminal outfit is Russian based , which it is.

Lots of Russians indicted for similar crimes, not sure Russian is running to hand any of them over.

Plenty of articles out deal the Russian crime rings are ultimately tied to Putin and his cronies

If you think this story needs honest facts stated , then they can't just be cherry picked for someone's personal agenda.

I think the author here did fine. We have had stories on REvil before

 

[Uncle Al]

$16m fine for $700m, I'd say it pays pretty well and with that kind of scratch he can hire himself a smart lawyer to get that sentence reduced considerable. With good behavior he could be out in less than two ...... Now, make that crime a Capital Punishment case and you can eliminate repeat offenders and send a strong message to the other criminals. Give the CIA free rein to track them down and eliminate them and you could cut the numbers of offenders by more than half as well as give the CIA more skills .....

 

[VaRmeNsI]

In 13 years he'll just go back to Russia and not pay a penny.

 

[JamesBlond]

On Contract paper his worth 50mill, what does he care

 

[JamesBlond]

He extorted at least $700 million but he only received a $16 million dollar fine?

So when he gets out of jail he will still have at least $500 million somewhere hidden.

I say crime does pay... simply because these criminals are still getting away with it after being put away living off people's taxes in jail and then enjoying their stolen millions afterwards.

if its bitcoin holdings in 15yrs his worth will be 10 times that

 

[Kingkong1984]

Curious why most media reporting failed to note he was a Ukrainian national, and one that Ukraine had long refused to bring to justice ... it wasn't until he crossed over into Poland that Polish authorities nabbed him.


Eh? More than 400 defendants were charged and convicted of fraud from the 2008 crisis.

That boom bust operation was planned in advance and top officials, both from government or these financial institutions stayed unpunished.

 

[kaosken]

Ok, $16million fine. So, if it gets paid WHO GETS the $16,000,000?

 

[mbk34]

It sounds like he should be clearing mines in Ukraine. When (and if) he finishes his national service then he can be jailed. All his gains should be dedicated to the war effort.

 

[Endymio]

Why does the story need to mention he is a Russian speaking Ukrainian

All Ukrainians are Russian-speaking Ukrainians. And the point is -- Ukraine refused to take action to arrest this man, nor other members of REvil which are still active in the country.

Nor does the story say this criminal outfit is Russian based , which it is.

Actually, the outfit had members in nearly a dozen Eastern-European nations, which is why REvil's ransomware would refuse to install itself on any computer with a keyboard for the countries of Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazahkstan, etc:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/05/try-this-one-weird-trick-russian-hackers-hate/

Russia arrested several members of REvil in 2022; they're currently in prison now. Those in other countries, such as Ukraine, were still allowed to roam free:

REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia

Russian authorities dismantle the notorious cyber-crime gang at the request of the United States.

www.bbc.com

 

[kiwigraeme]

All Ukrainians are Russian-speaking Ukrainians. And the point is -- Ukraine refused to take action to arrest this man, nor other members of REvil which are still active in the country.


Actually, the outfit had members in nearly a dozen Eastern-European nations, which is why REvil's ransomware would refuse to install itself on any computer with a keyboard for the countries of Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazahkstan, etc:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/05/try-this-one-weird-trick-russian-hackers-hate/

Russia arrested several members of REvil in 2022; they're currently in prison now. Those in other countries, such as Ukraine, were still allowed to roam free:

REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia

Russian authorities dismantle the notorious cyber-crime gang at the request of the United States.

www.bbc.com

Yeah Russian crime groups don't target Russians.
They were arrested for political reasons. That's what happens in countries like China and Russia.
Again unless we know the final result, the arrest could just be for show ie optics.
They may have done things now allowed, eg aided other countries for money.

Big scale crime gangs, only happen in countries like Russia and China, with payoffs etc

Lots of evidence these gangs do dirty work for Putin. But we all know that already. Pure simple logic says it is so, even without evidence

 

[Endymio]

Yeah Russian crime groups don't target Russians.

These groups refused to carry out attacks in some 14 different countries -- Ukraine and Russia among them -- in the hopes that this would allow them to escape charges in those nations. They were right about Ukraine -- but wrong about Russia, which these arrests demonstrate.

They were arrested for political reasons.

What "political reasons" were there for Moscow to arrest the REvil hackers?

Big scale crime gangs, only happen in countries like Russia and China

Oops! According to the DOJ, the US is home to more than 3,500 "big scale" organized crime rings, carrying out everything from drugs to human trafficking to fraud. Just one sector alone -- organized shoplifting gangs -- did more than $40 BILLION worth of crime in just 2022 alone. Some of these gangs have their own warehouses, and fleets of 18-wheelers, they steal so many goods, along with their own retail storefronts to resell items:

Inside the organized crime rings plaguing Ulta, T.J. Maxx, Walgreens and other retailers

The organized theft groups don’t typically carry out the splashy “smash and grab” robberies seen in viral videos. Instead, they pilfer goods quickly, quietly and efficiently.

www.nbcnews.com

And of course even this $40B/year operation pales in comparison to US drug-trafficking rings, which since the fentanyl explosion are now nearing $1 trillion per year in profits.

As for Ukraine, even before the war, it was the drug-trafficking, human-trafficking, weapons-trafficking, and money-laundering capital of Europe, with officials so corrupt that the EU estimated in 2019 that fully 50% of all monetary transactions in the country occurred on the black market:

Lots of evidence these gangs do dirty work for Putin.

No. There's lots of speculation, all of which takes the form of "If Putin didn't like it, it wouldn't be happening".

 

[kiwigraeme]

These groups refused to carry out attacks in some 14 different countries -- Ukraine and Russia among them -- in the hopes that this would allow them to escape charges in those nations. They were right about Ukraine -- but wrong about Russia, which these arrests demonstrate.


What "political reasons" were there for Moscow to arrest the REvil hackers?


Oops! According to the DOJ, the US is home to more than 3,500 "big scale" organized crime rings, carrying out everything from drugs to human trafficking to fraud. Just one sector alone -- organized shoplifting gangs -- did more than $40 BILLION worth of crime in just 2022 alone. Some of these gangs have their own warehouses, and fleets of 18-wheelers, they steal so many goods, along with their own retail storefronts to resell items:

Inside the organized crime rings plaguing Ulta, T.J. Maxx, Walgreens and other retailers

The organized theft groups don’t typically carry out the splashy “smash and grab” robberies seen in viral videos. Instead, they pilfer goods quickly, quietly and efficiently.

www.nbcnews.com

And of course even this $40B/year operation pales in comparison to US drug-trafficking rings, which since the fentanyl explosion are now nearing $1 trillion per year in profits.

As for Ukraine, even before the war, it was the drug-trafficking, human-trafficking, weapons-trafficking, and money-laundering capital of Europe, with officials so corrupt that the EU estimated in 2019 that fully 50% of all monetary transactions in the country occurred on the black market:


No. There's lots of speculation, all of which takes the form of "If Putin didn't like it, it wouldn't be happening".

Let's stop now as getting of topic. China and Russia are not like USA . Rich people jump out of windows, people disappear. In USA can take years of investigation following the law to bring down a gang. FBI know who many of the kingpins are. Like everyone knows who the Gambino family were

 

[Endymio]

FBI know who many of the kingpins are. Like everyone knows who the Gambino family were

And yet the Gambinos freely escaped justice for decades, despite "everyone knowing" who they were. Some of them were actually protected by the FBI:

"...Whitey Bulger’s connection with the FBI [shielded] him from indictment, and he returned to his criminal activity with impunity...

Once, acting on a tip from an FBI agent, Bulger lured two informers to a house in South Boston, chained them to a chair for interrogation, shot them in the head and buried them in the basement...."

Now, returning to the topic of REvil, their members in Russia were arrested. Their members in Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and elsewhere are still roaming free -- except for this Ukrainian, who made the mistake of crossing into Poland.

 

[ddferrari]

Send him to Russia, where they will enlist him in their army. He'll be dead in a month.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

He extorted at least $700 million but he only received a $16 million dollar fine?

So when he gets out of jail he will still have at least $500 million somewhere hidden.

I say crime does pay... simply because these criminals are still getting away with it after being put away living off people's taxes in jail and then enjoying their stolen millions afterwards.

Judges and the government always make us proud. /s

 

[toooooot]

In 13 years he'll just go back to Russia and not pay a penny.

13 years is a long time for a young man. He will literally burn his best years, years he probably dreamed of spending his "earnings" in Monaco and other fancy places. I would be happy
if he received more. But this time is a good punishment too. I am sure he already tasted some of that rich life. Not anymore.