Category Archives: U.S. Department of State

$10M Is Yours If You Can Get This Guy to Leave Russia

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The U.S. government this week put a $10 million bounty on the head of a Russian man who for the past 18 years operated Try2Check, one of the cybercrime underground’s most trusted services for checking the validity of stolen credit card data. U.S. authorities say 43-year-old Denis Kulkov’s card-checking service made him at least $18 million, which he used to buy a Ferrari, Land Rover, and other luxury items. Continue reading $10M Is Yours If You Can Get This Guy to Leave Russia→

State Department cyber strategy emphasizes proactively hunting for threats

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The new strategy focuses on improving the State Department’s intelligence bureau’s cybersecurity so that it can better protect the top secret information it collects.

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REvil Ransom Arrest, $6M Seizure, and $10M Reward

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The U.S. Department of Justice said today it arrested a Ukrainian man who deployed ransomware on behalf of the REvil ransomware gang, a Russian cybercriminal collective that has extorted hundreds of millions from victim organizations. The DOJ also said it had seized $6.1 million in cryptocurrency sent to another REvil affiliate, and that the State Department is now offering up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of any key leaders of REvil. Continue reading REvil Ransom Arrest, $6M Seizure, and $10M Reward→

State Department offers up to $10 million in rewards to ID hackers who interfere in election

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The U.S. government is trying to be more proactive in fending off election interference. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday offered up to $10 million in rewards for the identification or location of anyone trying to interfere in elections “through certain illegal cyber activities” at the direction of a foreign government. The offer comes amid ongoing concern about meddling efforts designed to influence the U.S. election scheduled for Nov. 3. U.S. intelligence agencies previously concluded that Russian intelligence agencies interfered in the 2016 election by hacking the Democratic National Committee, then distributing emails meant to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy. The State Department bounty notes that “persons engaged in certain malicious cyber operations targeting election or campaign infrastructure” may be subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The federal law prohibits hacking, or unauthorized access to protected computers, making it clear that the reward program […]

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$2 million in rewards posted for accused SEC hackers

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It’s just like the old saying goes: If you can’t beat ’em, tweet about it. The U.S. government embarked on a public awareness campaign Wednesday seeking help in the apprehension of two Ukrainian men accused of hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The State Department offered rewards of up to $1 million apiece for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko. The bounty that comes more than a year after the pair were indicted in a scheme to breach an SEC database, steal nonpublic information and then sell it for a profit. The Secret Service, meanwhile, sent a series of tweets highlighting existing charges against the pair, and asked other Twitter users to provide more information. The effort to breach an SEC database resulted in more than $4.5 million in profit, the Secret Service tweeted. “As their criminal reach is worldwide, we welcome the cooperation and […]

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