Kalani Tharanga, JadeTimes Staff
D.W.G. Kalani Tharanga is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Political Blogs.
In a coordinated effort, the UK, US, and Australia have announced sanctions against 16 individuals accused of being part of the Russia based cybercrime organization known as Evil Corp. Over nearly a decade, this notorious hacking group has allegedly stolen around $300 million through a series of destructive cyber attacks worldwide. The sanctions, part of a broader multinational campaign to disrupt cybercrime, also target individuals linked to another major cybercriminal gang, LockBit. This marks the first official connection between the two groups, underscoring how hackers are increasingly collaborating across networks to carry out cyber attacks.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed that Maksim Yakubets, the alleged ringleader of Evil Corp, has been supported by his father, Viktor Yakubets, despite previous denials from the elder Yakubets when interviewed in 2021. New evidence implicates Viktor in aiding the gang, particularly in laundering stolen funds. The NCA's latest disclosures highlight how the Yakubets family, including Maksim's brother Artem and his father-in-law Eduard Benderskiy a former high ranking FSB official played central roles in protecting and coordinating the gang’s activities, all while leveraging their connections to Russian security services. This crackdown aims to disrupt the group's operations and send a firm message to Moscow that Western governments will not tolerate cyber attacks stemming from Russian criminal networks or state sponsored hackers.
Evil Corp and LockBit Collaboration Signals Heightened Cyber Threats
As part of the extensive international operation, authorities have linked members of Evil Corp to LockBit, a notorious ransomware group. Among those sanctioned is Aleksandr Ryzhenkov, described by the NCA as Maksim Yakubets’ right hand man and a significant affiliate of LockBit. This marks a pivotal moment in understanding how major cybercrime groups operate collaboratively, indicating that these hackers are not isolated but rather work across multiple organizations to increase the scale and impact of their attacks. This revelation suggests that the world of cybercrime is becoming more interconnected and potentially more dangerous.
In addition to the sanctions, arrests have been made in the UK, where a 46 year old man suspected of being linked to a LockBit affiliate was detained, along with a 50 year old woman accused of money laundering. These arrests stem from Operation Cronos, an international police operation that took down LockBit’s infrastructure and is part of ongoing efforts to dismantle the internal networks of these cybercriminal organizations. Authorities are continuing their investigation as more links between Evil Corp and other cyber gangs emerge.
This global action against Evil Corp and its affiliates highlights the increasing complexity and scale of cybercrime, as well as the growing international cooperation needed to combat these sophisticated networks. With the exposure of Evil Corp’s connections to the Russian state, Western officials, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, have reinforced their stance against Russian cyber attacks, emphasizing that neither state actors nor their criminal proxies will escape accountability. The joint efforts to impose sanctions, execute arrests, and disrupt these groups demonstrate a renewed determination by global authorities to safeguard economies and security systems from the escalating threat of cybercrime.
