A 26-year-old Ukrainian nationwide has been charged within the U.S. for his alleged position within the Raccoon Stealer malware-as-a-service (MaaS) operation.
Mark Sokolovsky, who was arrested by Dutch legislation enforcement after leaving Ukraine on March 4, 2022, in what’s mentioned to be a Porsche Cayenne, is at the moment being held within the Netherlands and awaits extradition to the U.S.
“People who deployed Raccoon Infostealer to steal knowledge from victims leased entry to the malware for about $200 per 30 days, paid for by cryptocurrency,” the U.S. Division of Justice (DoJ) mentioned. “These people used varied ruses, reminiscent of e-mail phishing, to put in the malware onto the computer systems of unsuspecting victims.”
Sokolovsky is claimed to have passed by varied on-line monikers like Photix, raccoonstealer, and black21jack77777 on on-line cybercrime boards to promote the service on the market.
Raccoon Stealer, primarily distributed beneath the guise of cracked software program, is thought to be one of many most prolific info stealers, put to make use of by a number of cybercriminal actors for its intensive options and the customizability provided by the malware.
Lively since April 2019, the risk actors behind the operation abruptly halted work on the mission earlier this March, citing the lack of a core member attributable to a “particular operation.”
Whereas this was interpreted because the loss of life of a developer within the Russo-Ukrainian battle, court docket paperwork present that it was certainly Sokolovsky’s arrest and the following dismantling of the malware’s infrastructure by Italian and Dutch authorities that led to the momentary shutdown.
That mentioned, a second model of Raccoon Stealer written in C/C++ has since begun circulating on underground boards as of June 2022, with its authors touting the device’s ease of use.
“It’s so quick and easy that with its assist it is not going to be tough for a kid to learn to course of logs,” the cybercrime gang posted in a message shared on its Telegram channel in Could.
Based on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the malware is estimated to have facilitated the theft of fifty million distinctive credentials and types of identification (e.g., e-mail addresses, financial institution accounts, cryptocurrency addresses, and bank card numbers) from hundreds of thousands of victims globally.
The credentials allegedly encompass over 4 million e-mail addresses, prompting the FBI to launch a web site raccoon.ic3[.]gov to assist customers test if their e-mail addresses present up within the Raccoon Stealer knowledge.
Sokolovsky has been charged with one rely of conspiracy to commit laptop fraud and associated exercise in reference to computer systems; one rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; one rely of conspiracy to commit cash laundering; and one rely of aggravated id theft.
If confirmed responsible, the defendant faces a most penalty of 20 years in jail for the wire fraud and cash laundering offenses, 5 years for the conspiracy to commit laptop fraud cost, and a compulsory consecutive two-year time period for the aggravated id theft offense.
“Any such malware feeds the cybercrime ecosystem, harvesting worthwhile info and permitting cyber criminals to steal from harmless People and residents all over the world,” U.S. Legal professional Ashley C. Hoff mentioned.
