Reuters sent a request for comment to the FSB in Moscow on Wednesday evening but there was no immediate response.
The alleged criminals involved in the scheme include Alexsey Belan, who is among the FBI’s most-wanted cyber criminals and was arrested in Europe in June 2013 but escaped to Russia before he could be extradited to the United States, according to the Justice Department.
Karim Baratov, who was born in Kazakhstan but has Canadian citizenship, was also named in the indictment.
The Justice Department said Baratov was arrested in Canada on Tuesday. Canadian police did not immediately respond to requests to confirm the arrest.
McCord said the hacking campaign was waged by the FSB to collect intelligence but that the two hackers used the collected information as an opportunity to “line their pockets.”
The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but McCord said she was hopeful Russian authorities would cooperate in bringing criminals to justice. The United States often charges cyber criminals with the intent of deterring future state-sponsored activity.
Originally posted 2017-03-15 22:58:53.
