Washington (AFP)
Russian-based hackers have launched a new wave of ransomware attacks on US companies, which encrypt data and make it only accessible in exchange for ransom, researchers warned. computer science.
Computer protection company Symantec said it had identified at least 31 targets in the United States, including eight companies among the 500 largest in the country.
"The authors of these threats seem very skillful and experienced, capable of penetrating some of the best protected companies, stealing authorizations and roaming freely in the internal networks of these companies. WastedLocker is an extremely dangerous ransomware," said Symantec.
"At least 31 customers have been attacked, which means that the actual number of attacks is likely to be much higher. The attackers managed to penetrate the networks of the target organizations and were preparing the ground to execute their attack at ransomware, "said Symantec.
Earlier this week a similar warning was issued by UK cybersecurity company NCC Group, which has been warning of the WastedLocker threat since May.
Researchers say two Russian citizens, Maxime Iakoubets and Igor Tourachev, are participating in these operations. The two men were charged in the United States in December 2019 and are accused of being involved in Evil Corp, a group of hackers suspected of attacking American and British banks.
According to Stefano Antenucci, an analyst at NCC, cybersecurity specialists can demonstrate "with a high degree of certainty" that the latest ransomware is also from Evil Corp.
American justice estimates that Evil Corp is linked to the Russian intelligence services and managed to steal more than 100 million dollars.
The US Treasury also imposed sanctions on the two men and offered a $ 5 million reward for the arrest of Iakoubets. It is the strongest reward ever offered to a cybercriminal.
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