The United States Justice Department on Monday announced that it has arrested hacker Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi for his involvement with REvil, a group that used ransomware to attack businesses and government entities in the United States.
Vasinskyi, 22, a Ukrainian national, was charged with conducting ransomware attacks against multiple victims, including the July 2021 attack against Kaseya, a multi-national information technology software company.
REvil in April stole schematics from Apple supplier Quanta Computer that were of the design of the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that were later released in October. REvil extorted Apple by threatening to release additional documents if the Cupertino company didn’t pay a $50 million fee.
However, just a few days after REvil made its demand, the group mysteriously removed all documents and extortion threats related to Apple from its website.
REvil was also responsible for a May cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline that caused gas shortages on the East Coast of the United States. July saw REvil take advantage of a vulnerability in management software designed for Kaseya, targeting between 800 and 1,500 businesses worldwide.
While the DoJ says that Vasinskyi was involved in the Kaseya attack, it is not clear if he was also part of the attack on Quanta Computer. He was arrested in Poland and is awaiting extradition to the United States.
The DoJ also seized $6.1 million received by Yevgeniy Polyanin, who was also involved with REvil, attacking multiple victims. Two others have been arrested in Romania, but no details have been shared.
Both persons have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, substantive counts of damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Vasinskyi could spend up to 115 years in prison if convicted, while Polyanin could be facing up to 145 years. Vasinskyi is in custody, while Polyanin has not yet been arrested and is believed to be abroad.
