Russian 'Evil Corp' cybercrime gang bilked millions in hacking spree, officials charge

By Tim Starks

U.S. and U.K. law enforcement officials Thursday announced charges against two alleged Russian leaders of a cybercrime gang dubbed Evil Corp, which the DOJ believes is behind "two of the worst computer hacking and bank fraud schemes of the past decade."

The unsealed computer hacking and bank fraud charges blame Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev for deployment of the Zeus and Bugat/Dridex malware. Officials estimate that Zeus caused at least $70 million in bank account losses and that Bugat is responsible for "millions" in losses, said Brian Benczkowski, assistant attorney general for the DOJ Criminal Division.

Officials from DOJ, the State Department and the U.K. National Crime Agency held a news conference Thursday morning, with State announcing a $5 million reward for information leading to Yakubets' arrest — the largest reward for a cybercriminal to date.

Benczkowski said the suspects were behind hacking operations "so audacious and sophisticated they would be difficult to imagine if they were not real."

Also Thursday morning, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against Evil Corp, alleging that Yakubets "also provides direct assistance to the Russian government’s malicious cyber efforts, highlighting the Russian government’s enlistment of cybercriminals for its own malicious purposes."

Yakubets and multiple co-conspirators victimized "21 specific municipalities, banks, companies, and non-profit organizations in California, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington," as well as "multiple entities in Nebraska and a religious congregation," according to the DOJ.

The department said Bugat and Zeus victims are often small- and mid-sized businesses with fewer digital defenses.

Besides the charges filed against Yakubets and Turashev in the Western District of Pennsylvania, prosecutors filed charges in Nebraska against "John Doe #2" for crimes related to Zeus.

The U.K. agency assisted in the investigation, and Thursday released information, footage and photos of what it deemed Yakubets' extravagant lifestyle. Details include a custom Lamborghini with a personal license plate that translates to "Thief" and spending more than $325,000 on his wedding.

While it's unclear if the cybercrime ring's name is a reference to the television show "Mr. Robot," Evil Corp is also the name of the fictional villainous company in the a show centrally about a hacker played by Rami Malek.

The U.K. also extradited two of Yakubets' alleged co-conspirators, Yuriy Konovaleko and Yevhen Kulibaba, to the U.S.