The US government is ready to pay $ 10 million reward for the caught Russian hacker who stole $ 400 million

The U.S. Department of Justice is offering a $ 10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a Russian hacker. The attacker blackmailed hospitals, schools, and law enforcement agencies across America. The Department of Justice reported that Mikhail Matveyev, a citizen of the terrorist state, is accused of hacking 2,800 people and demanding at least $ 400 million in ransom.

For his criminal cyber activities, the Russian came up with many pseudonyms — Wazawaka, m1x, Boriselcin, Uhodiransomwar, etc. Matveyev used three different variants of ransomware to attack US residents. In June 2020, he attacked police in Passaic Park, and last May, he attacked a nonprofit mental health organization in Mercer County and a police station in Washington, DC.

«Thanks to outstanding investigative work with our partners at the FBI, Matveyev is no longer hiding in the shadows,» said New Jersey District Attorney Philip Sellinger. -«We have publicly identified his criminal actions and filed multiple federal charges. Let them serve as a reminder to all cybercriminals. We will spare no resources to bring to justice those who use hacker attacks to demand ransom.»

The malware variants used by Matveyev are known as LockBit, Babuk and Hive. The criminal’s scheme of action has always been roughly the same: first, the hacker gained access to vulnerable computer systems, then sent a message to the victim demanding payment in exchange for decrypting the data or keeping it from being made public. If the victim did not pay the required amount, Matveyev would publish information on resources with the stolen data.

«The FBI is unwavering in its commitment to taking down cybercriminals like Matveyev,» said Brian Worndran, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division. — «We will not tolerate attacks like this against American citizens.»

Matveyev is charged with intentional damage, knowingly disclosing private information of foreign nationals, and cyber blackmail for ransom. If the Russian is proven guilty, he could face more than 20 years in prison.

As a reminder, over the past 4 months, Russian hackers have carried out more than 700 cyberattacks on Ukraine. In April alone, 151 attacks by hackers from the occupying country were processed, 54 of which targeted government agencies.