Hardheebov Alexander

2009: Moving to the United States

Tverdokhlebov has been living in the United States since 2009. By marrying an American, he was able to obtain citizenship. The couple subsequently divorced. Tverdokhlebov transferred a large sum of money to his ex-wife. Other members of his family live in Russia.

2017

Arrest

On February 1, 2017, the US authorities arrested Alexander Tverdokhlebov, who is suspected of stealing funds from thousands of accounts in American banks using malware.

In court documents, Tverdokhlebov is called "an active participant in several elite Russian cybercriminal forums with good connections" and an administrator of a botnet of 10 thousand computers, which Tverdokhlebov and his alleged workmate Vadim Polyakov used for criminal activities. Among other things, they were engaged money laundering in the resale of stolen personal data and the distribution of malicious. ON

US authorities arrested Alexander Tverdokhlebov, a native of Russia, who is suspected of stealing funds from thousands of accounts in American banks using malware

Tverdokhlebov was charged with fraudulent activities that he carried out from 2008 to 2010, however, the documents indicate that most likely Tverdokhlebov was engaged in illegal acts until the very last moment.

Vadim Polyakov was arrested in Spain in 2015 and extradited to the United States. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to fraud, as a result of which the StubHub ticket service suffered damage of more than a million dollars. Polyakov was engaged in the mass purchase of tickets for entertainment events using stolen credit cards. On their resale, he and his accomplices earned about one million dollars. The court sentenced Polyakov to 12 years in prison with the right to ask for early release in four years.

The defense asked the court to release Tverdokhlebov on bail, but the prosecution opposed this. Court documents indicate that during a search of the suspect's apartment, the keys to bank cells were found, which contained 172 thousand dollars in 100-dollar bills, and the logs of his negotiations show ICQ that he was actively discussing flight plans in case he suddenly attracted increased attention from law enforcement agencies. The prosecution also drew attention to Tverdokhlebov's extensive connections with "several of the world's most famous cybercriminals," thereby convincing the court to keep the accused in custody.^[1]

Cybercrime costs the global economy too much, - comments Dmitry Gvozdev, CEO of Security Monitor. - The problem is that others will come to the place of each arrested "well-connected hacker," and this will continue until the potential victims of cyber attacks - banks, industrial organizations or individual users - are engaged in ensuring their own cyber security. This is the only way to make cybercrime less of a grain business.

9 years in prison

Alexander Tverdokhlebov, arrested in early 2017, was sentenced to 9 years in prison. The American court found him guilty of serial theft of funds from other people's bank accounts, theft of credit card numbers and other financial information using malware, as well as for creating a botnet with about 500 thousand infected computers.^[2]

According to investigators, between 2009 and 2013, a hyperactive cybercriminal stole the data of approximately 40 thousand credit cards, dealing with cybercrimes almost until his arrest. The total damage that the hacker caused during his career is estimated at $9.5-25 million.

To directly receive funds, the hacker used a cunning scheme that included the services of "money mules." He transferred money from the hacked accounts of other people to the "mules," after which they bought expensive goods, resold them and sent the "commission" to Tverdokhlebov. In addition, the "mules" removed the money transferred by the hacker using fake bank cards and, again, transferred his share to Tverdokhlebov.

He also convinced two Russian students who visited the United States to open bank accounts in their names, which Tverdokhlebov used to launder stolen funds.

His correspondence ICQ with Vadim Polyakov, a cybercriminal who confessed in 2016 to fraudulent actions against the StubHub ticket exchange, helped to convict Tverdokhlebov.

The opened correspondence made it possible to establish the name of Tverdokhlebov, as well as the full name of his partner, home address and phone number. Most likely, he was preparing to escape, but did not have time.

See also

• Hackers
• Cybercrime in the world
• Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: US
• Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Europe
• Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Israel
• Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: China
• Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Iran

Notes