Ukrainian nationwide Mark Sokolovsky was sentenced at this time to 5 years in jail for his involvement within the Raccoon Stealer malware cybercrime operation.
In accordance with unsealed court docket paperwork, Sokolovsky (often known as raccoon-stealer, Photix, and black21jack77777) and his conspirators rented the malware to different risk actors underneath a MaaS (malware-as-a-service) mannequin for $75 per week or $200 month-to-month.
After infecting a tool, Raccoon Stealer collects and steals a variety of information, together with credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, bank card knowledge, e-mail knowledge, and different delicate info from dozens of functions.
In March 2022, police arrested Sokolovsky within the Netherlands. The FBI additionally took the malware offline by dismantling its infrastructure in a joint motion with regulation enforcement authorities within the Netherlands and Italy.
The Raccoon Stealer cybercrime gang additionally suspended operations across the time of Sokolovsky’s arrest, saying that certainly one of their lead builders had been killed throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the malware operation has been revived a number of instances, with newer variations including extra knowledge theft capabilities.
Sokolovsky was extradited to the US in February 2024 after being indicted for fraud, cash laundering, and aggravated identification theft in October 2022. One yr later, he pleaded responsible and agreed to pay no less than $910,844.61 in restitution.
“Mark Sokolovsky was a key participant in a world prison conspiracy that victimized numerous people by administering malware which made it cheaper and simpler for even amateurs to commit advanced cybercrimes,” stated U.S. Lawyer Jaime Esparza at this time.
“Sokolovsky’s infostealer was answerable for compromising greater than 52 million person credentials, which have been then utilized in furtherance of fraud, identification theft, and ransomware assaults on thousands and thousands of victims worldwide,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Aaron Tapp added.
After dismantling Raccoon Stealer’s infrastructure in March 2022, the FBI additionally created a web site to assist victims examine whether or not their info was included within the stolen knowledge utilizing this malware.
In case your knowledge has been compromised, you’ll obtain an e-mail containing further info and sources on the handle supplied when looking the FBI’s Raccoon Infostealer Disclosure portal.