UK sanctions Russian cybercrime gang members

The UK has announced sanctions for members of a Russian cyber criminal gang who were responsible for the Trickbot/Conti ransomware attacks. The attacks targeted critical infrastructure and hospitals during the pandemic.

11 people have been targeted with asset freezes and travel bans in a coordinated effort by UK and US authorities.

After investigation, the National Crime Agency (NCA) found that the group was responsible for extorting at least $180 million from victims globally, and at least £27 million from 149 UK victims.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: "These cyber criminals thrive off anonymity, moving in the shadows of the internet to cause maximum damage and extort money from their victims.

"Our sanctions show they cannot act with impunity. We know who they are and what they are doing.

"By exposing their identities, we are disrupting their business models and making it harder for them to target our people, our businesses and our institutions."

Security minister Tom Tugendhat said: "These sanctions demonstrate that the UK will crackdown on those trying to hold UK businesses and infrastructure to ransom. We will use our law enforcement agencies to go after the perpetrators and punish their crimes.

"We have the skills and resources to find and unmask criminals who attempt to steal from British businesses, schools and hospitals.

"We will keep working with our partners, like the US, to defeat these threats.

NCA director general of operations Rob Jones said: "These sanctions are a continuation of our campaign against international cyber criminals.

"Attacks by this ransomware group have caused significant damage to our businesses and ruined livelihoods, with victims having to deal with the prolonged impact of financial and data losses.

"These criminals thought they were untouchable, but our message is clear: we know who you are and, working with our partners, we will not stop in our efforts to bring you to justice."

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