International law enforcemеnt efforts have intensified following reports that the Russia-based cybercrime syndicate Evil Corp may have ties to the ransomware group LockBit.
A recent report by Chainalysis reveals that both groups share cryptocurrency infrastructure, indicating potential collaboration. This development comes as the U.S., UK, and Australian governments imposed sanctions on key Evil Corp members for their involvement in widespread financial theft and ransomware attacks.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, alongside the UKās Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Australiaās Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), imposed sanctions on key figures within Evil Corp last week. This follows the unsealing of an indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice charging an Evil Corp member with using BitPaymer ransomware to target U.S. victims. Evil Corp is primarily known for developing the Dridex malware, which has stolen over $100 million from financial institutions across more than 40 countries.
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The Chainalysis report also highlighted ransomware strains associated with Evil Corp and cryptocurrency clusters tied to LockBit have used the same deposit addresses at centralized exchanges. This overlap suggests potential cooperation or shared infrastructure between the two groups. Earlier reports indicated that the group had used LockBitās ransomware to rebrand and evade sanctions. Additionally, several key members of Evil Corp are believed to have close ties, further strengthening speculations of internal links within the group.
Evil Corp and Russian State Connections
Evil Corpās leader, Maksim Victorovich Yakubets, has been accused of working with Russiaās Federal Security Service (FSB) and attempting to obtain a license to handle classified information. His father, Viktor Yakubets, and father-in-law, Eduard Benderskiy, a former FSB officer, have also been linked to the group, raising concerns about the groupās potential connections to Russian state entities.
Law enforcement across multiple cоuntries have coordinated efforts to dismantle the syndicate and its affiliates. Recent actions include the arrest of a suspected LockBit developer by FrenŃh authorities and the seizure of servers linked to LockBitās ransomware infrastructure by Spanish officials.
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