Maksim Yakubets and his associates are accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars using Zeus and Dridex malware. The Department of Justice, the FBI, and the US State Department announced on Thursday that they are offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Yakubets or others associated with the attacks, which include victims like Bank of America, Key Bank, GanLabs, and United Dairy. Yakubets is charged with running the notorious Zeus banking malware operation since as early as 2009, installing the malware on thousands of business computers and capturing information that resulted in fraudulent wire transfers.
On Thursday, Federal authorities also charged fellow Russian national Igor Turashev, in collaboration with Yakubets, with stealing and attempting to steal money from bank accounts of thousands of individuals using Dridex malware. The Dridex campaign also began around 2009, and was ongoing as recently as March 2019, the DoJ stated. The Dridex campaign resulted in millions of dollars stolen from online bank accounts of business and consumers, with victims including at least two banks and four companies. These indictments represent one of the most sophisticated transnational cybercrime syndicated in the world, and the Dridex campaign was one of the most widespread malware campaigns ever encountered by the Justice Department.
Read More: US Sets $5 Million Bounty For Russian Hacker Behind Zeus Banking Thefts
