Russian expelled from Korea to US over cyber extortion case

Illustrative photo from open sources

South Korean authorities have extradited 42-year-old Russian citizen Yevgeny Ptitsyn to the US to face charges of distributing ransomware. This was reported by France 24 TV channel, citing an AFP correspondent in Washington, Radio Liberty reports.

Ptitsyn will appear in court, where he will be charged with intentionally sending malicious computer programs for the purpose of extorting money. Ptitsyn sent his messages to schools, hospitals and other institutions. This was announced on Monday, November 18, by the US Department of Justice.

The investigation established that Evgeny Ptitsyn appropriated $16 million received as a result of distributing the ransomware program “Phobos”.

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The cybercriminal and his accomplices created a ransomware group that carried out more than 1,000 attacks on individuals and institutions in the United States and other countries, Nicole Argentieri, a senior Justice Department spokeswoman, told reporters.

“Ptitsyn and his accomplices hacked not only the networks of large corporations, but also the computer systems of schools, hospitals, and nonprofits. Among the victims was one of the federally recognized Indian tribes,” Argentieri said.

The indictment alleges that Ptitsyn began offering access to the Phobos program to “affiliated persons” in November 2020. This allowed the encryption of victims' data and extortion of ransom in exchange for decryption keys.

Ptitsyn is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, intentional damage to protected computers and extortion in connection with hacking.

If convicted, he faces decades in prison, France 24 reported.

Prepared by: Sergei Daga