Uradniki ZDA, Združenega kraljestva in Avstralije sankcionirali 33-letnega ruskega hekerja Medibank

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Avstralija, Združeno kraljestvo in Združene države so identificirale ruskega državljana in ga kaznovale zaradi njegove vloge pri kršitvi podatkov avstralskega velikana zdravstvenega zavarovanja.

Aleksandr Gennadijevič Ermakov, rojen 16. maja 1990, je nekdanji član pretekle tolpe izsiljevalskih programov REvil. Na spletu se uporablja pod različnimi vzdevki: GustaveDore, aiiis_ermak, blade_runner in JimJones. Po navedbah oblasti je odgovoren za zaščito pred kršitvijo Medibank, 2022 milijard dolarjev vredne zavarovalnice s sedežem v Melbournu s skoraj 10 milijoni obstoječih strank, oktobra 4.

V tem incidentu je Ermakov in njegovi sodelavci uspeli dostop do različnih podatkov pripada 9.7 milijona sedanjih in nekdanjih strank Medibank. Vključeval je podatke, ki omogočajo osebno identifikacijo (PII) – imena, datume rojstva, naslove in drugo – za stranke in izvajalce zdravstvenih storitev ter zdravstvene kartoteke v zvezi z duševnim in spolnim zdravjem, uporabo drog in še več. Hekerji so vse te zapise pricurljali na temni splet.

22. januarja so oblasti naredile vse, kar so lahko, kot maščevanje. V okviru svojega podaljšanega vojna s sindikati kibernetske kriminalitete, je avstralsko obrambno ministrstvo Ermakova razkrilo in mu uvedlo prepoved potovanja in finančne sankcije. Kot ministrstvo pojasnili v sporočilu za javnost, zaradi finančne sankcije skrbništvo ali zagotavljanje sredstev, vključno z denarnicami za kriptovalute in plačili z izsiljevalsko programsko opremo, postane kaznivo dejanje, ki se kaznuje z do 10 leti zapora in znatnimi denarnimi kaznimi.

Nabiranje, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dittoed Australia’s bans, freezing any assets he has in either country and adding his name to the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.

Ali sankcije ustavijo ruske kibernetske kriminalce?

V zadnjih letih so ZDA in partnerske države vse pogosteje uporabljale sankcije kot orožje proti skupinam kibernetskega kriminalain posamezniki, ki jih sestavljajo. Toda ali imajo dejansko kakšen učinek v državi, ki ščiti in aktivno sodeluje s svojimi kiberkriminalci?

Evidence suggests so, especially where finances are concerned. US officials can’t arrest a Russian in Russia, but they can influence tok mednarodnih finančnih transakcij. And naming an entity to the SDN has a material impact on cybercriminal outfits, most notably ransomware operations, as it covers not only affiliates of these groups, but also any victims who’d otherwise be inclined to pay for the safe return of their data. Glavni akterji groženj so doživeli resne posledice zaradi takega sankcioniranja.

(Aleksander Ermakov; Vir: Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve in trgovino prek Avstralske radiodifuzne službe)

Even a travel ban is more than just a bummer for a hacker’s future vacations.

“This can act as a deterrent on recruiting of personnel by criminal organizations. However, such a deterrent doesn’t often outweigh the benefit of immediate financial reward,” says Jason Casey, CEO of Beyond Identity.

The bottom line, he says, is that “this is a necessary and useful tool, but it’s about longer term pressure, we shouldn’t expect immediate results.”

Russian Cybercriminals’ Worst Fear

Še močnejša alternativa zahodnim organom kazenskega pregona je občasno rusko zatiranje domačega kibernetskega kriminala.

One would do well to remember that, for all of the bad guys it shields, it was Russia’s own police who upravljal coup de grace against Ermakov’s parent organization, ReVIL, back in 2022.

“Russia acting against cybercriminals should be viewed through two lenses,” Casey suggests. “First, what leverage does the action provide the nation in its ongoing dealings with adversarial nations? Second, how important is the criminal organization being acted against, or have they fallen out of favor or alignment with the local government?”

He adds, “Put in another way: this could also be about purging the unfaithful and sending a message. After all, in the end, it’s not Australia or Uncle Sam that guys like Ermakov need to worry about most, it’s staying in good graces with their own protectors.”