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Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Ukraine
Main article: Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Ukraine
Biography
2022: Arrest and indictment of years of financial data theft
On October 25, 2022, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of 26-year-old Ukrainian citizen Mark Sokolovsky: he is charged with participating in the international cybercriminal operation Raccoon Infostealer, aimed at stealing personal data of [[Internet|Internet users around the world.
The Raccoon Infostealer malware was distributed using the MaaS (Malware-as-a-Service) model - "malicious software as a service." Fraudsters rented this program for about $200 a month. Various tricks such as phishing were then used to install the Raccoon Infostealer on computers of unsuspecting victims. Further, various information was stolen, including information about bank accounts, cryptocurrency wallets and credit cards. These data were subsequently used to carry out financial fraud and theft of funds.
Mark Sokolovsky was arrested in March 2022. By October 2022, he is in custody in the Netherlands, awaiting extradition to the United States. According to FBI estimates, during the Raccoon Infostealer cybercriminal operation, more than 50 million unique records of Internet users' credentials, their email addresses, accounts, autocomplete forms, etc. were stolen.
It is reported that Mark Sokolovsky was charged with four counts: conspiracy to commit fraud using electronic communications; conspiracy to launder money; conspiracy to commit computer fraud and related activities; aggravated identity theft. On the first two counts, the accused faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, on the third - up to five years in prison, on the fourth - a mandatory two-year prison term.
The District Court Amsterdam on September 13, 2022 ruled to extradite the accused to the United States.[1]
2024
Recognition in the spread of Raccoon Infostealer virus
On October 7, 2024, the US Department of Justice announced that Ukrainian citizen Mark Sokolovsky pleaded guilty to spreading the Raccoon Infostealer virus. As part of the criminal case, he agreed to pay about $1 million.
Sokolovsky, 28, allegedly conspired to give third parties access to Raccoon Infostealer under the MaaS "malicious software-as-a-service" model ). Fraudsters could rent this virus for about $200 a month - payment was made in cryptocurrency. Then the malware was distributed in various ways, in particular, through phishing emails.
The attackers used Raccoon Infostealer to steal various information from the victims' computers. These are email addresses, credentials, bank account details, information about cryptocurrency wallets, etc. The stolen information was used to commit financial crimes or sold to other persons on hacker forums on the Internet. Law enforcement agencies have identified more than 50 million unique accounts that were stolen with the help of Raccoon Infostealer.
Sokolovsky was arrested in March 2022. At the same time FBI , together with law enforcement officers Italy Netherlands , it turned off the infrastructure supporting Raccoon Infostealer. USA Sokolowski was extradited to from the Netherlands in February 2024 after being charged with fraud offences money laundering and identity theft. The case is being investigated by the FBI Cybercrime Task Force in Austin with assistance from the Department's Office of Criminal Investigations, the Austin U.S. Army Police Department, the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), the Round Rock Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.[2]
5 years in prison for renting viruses for cyber attacks
On December 18, 2024, the US Department of Justice announced that Ukrainian citizen Mark Sokolovsky was found guilty of conspiracy to commit computer hacking. He was sentenced to five years in prison for renting viruses to carry out cyber attacks.
According to court documents, 28-year-old Sokolovsky conspired to distribute Raccoon Infostealer malware on the MaaS software (malicious as a service) model. Third-party attackers rented Raccoon Infostealer to steal personal information. It is alleged that Sokolovsky was a key player in an international criminal conspiracy, the victims of which were numerous users. Internet
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 | We want to thank our cybercrime task force and international partners for their help in bringing Sokolovsky to justice. Cases like this are a priority for the FBI, and we encourage anyone who has been a victim of financial fraud to report it, "said Special Agent Aaron Tapp. |  |
The case file says that with the help of Raccoon Infostealer, more than 52 million credentials were compromised. Sokolovsky agreed to pay about $911 thousand in damages. In addition, he was fined $23,975. The case was handled by a special FBI cybercrime investigation team in Austin. Sokolovsky will serve his sentence in a federal prison.
| | The verdict is the result of the tireless investigative efforts of numerous law enforcement agencies in several countries, and we once again express our gratitude to our international partners for their important work, "emphasizes US Attorney Jaime Esparza from the Western District of Texas.[3] | |
Notes
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