Doctor Accused of Being Prolific Ransomware Developer

US authorities have accused a 55-year-aged medical doctor of developing, marketing and leasing out ransomware to cyber-criminals globally.

Moises Luis Zagala Gonzalez (Zagala), aka “Nosophoros,” “Aesculapius” and “Nebuchadnezzar,” is a French and Venezuelan citizen.

The cardiologist, who life in Ciudad Bolivar in Venezuela, has been billed with tried laptop intrusions and conspiracy to dedicate computer system intrusions, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ).

He’s accused of producing the Jigsaw v2 variant, which attributes a “Doomsday” counter that totally erases a victim’s hard travel if they test and fail to get rid of the malware as well a lot of times.

Zagala is also linked to ransomware-as-a-provider (RaaS) supplying Thanos, which will allow consumers to customise it and then use or lease it out to many others. Affiliate marketers were given accessibility to the RaaS builder in return for a share of the profits from any subsequent attacks, the DoJ explained.

The medical doctor reportedly expended appreciable time conversing buyers as a result of how to use his items on the internet, acquiring payment in the two fiat and cryptocurrency. A Floridian relative’s PayPal account was utilised to acquire some funds, it is alleged.

An FBI supply contacted Zagala in May possibly 2020 and the latter presented to license a ransomware system to them for $500 for every thirty day period. In a subsequent dialogue, he allegedly described to the source how to set up an affiliate program.

He told an additional FBI source that he improved his on the internet moniker to Nebuchadnezzar in a bid to toss malware analysts off the scent.

In accordance to evaluations posted on the dark web and republished by the DoJ, 1 buyer said Thanos enabled them to infect a network of 3000 desktops.

When FBI agents interviewed the relative dwelling in Florida, they ended up evidently revealed speak to details for Zagala that matched an email employed to register malicious infrastructure linked with the Thanos malware.

It’s unclear if Zagala is however at large, but if convicted, he faces 5 years’ imprisonment for attempted computer system intrusion and a further five yrs for conspiracy to dedicate computer intrusions.

Some parts of this article are sourced from:
www.infosecurity-journal.com