U.S. Charges Ukrainian Hacker Over Role in Raccoon Stealer Malware Service

A 26-12 months-previous Ukrainian nationwide has been billed in the U.S. for his alleged function in the Raccoon Stealer malware-as-a-assistance (MaaS) operation.

Mark Sokolovsky, who was arrested by Dutch regulation enforcement right after leaving Ukraine on March 4, 2022, in what is reported to be a Porsche Cayenne, is at this time currently being held in the Netherlands and awaits extradition to the U.S.

“Folks who deployed Raccoon Infostealer to steal info from victims leased obtain to the malware for around $200 per thirty day period, paid out for by cryptocurrency,” the U.S. Office of Justice (DoJ) claimed. “These persons utilised different ruses, these kinds of as email phishing, to install the malware on to the computer systems of unsuspecting victims.”

Sokolovsky is mentioned to have long gone by many on the internet monikers like Photix, raccoonstealer, and black21jack77777 on on the net cybercrime boards to advertise the assistance for sale.

Raccoon Stealer, predominantly dispersed beneath the guise of cracked program, is regarded to be just one of the most prolific information stealers, place to use by many cybercriminal actors for its substantial options and the customizability made available by the malware.

Energetic because April 2019, the menace actors powering the procedure abruptly halted operate on the undertaking before this March, citing the reduction of a core member owing to a “particular procedure.”

Whilst this was interpreted as the loss of life of a developer in the Russo-Ukrainian war, court docket files present that it was indeed Sokolovsky’s arrest and the subsequent dismantling of the malware’s infrastructure by Italian and Dutch authorities that led to the temporary shutdown.

That reported, a 2nd version of Raccoon Stealer written in C/C++ has given that begun circulating on underground boards as of June 2022, with its authors touting the tool’s simplicity of use.

“It is so quick and straightforward that with its support it will not be difficult for a baby to understand how to system logs,” the cybercrime gang posted in a message shared on its Telegram channel in May perhaps.

In accordance to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the malware is estimated to have facilitated the theft of 50 million distinctive credentials and varieties of identification (e.g., email addresses, lender accounts, cryptocurrency addresses, and credit rating card quantities) from thousands and thousands of victims globally.

The credentials allegedly consist of around four million email addresses, prompting the FBI to start a site raccoon.ic3[.]gov to assistance consumers examine if their email addresses demonstrate up in the Raccoon Stealer knowledge.

Sokolovsky has been billed with one particular rely of conspiracy to commit laptop or computer fraud and linked exercise in relationship with computer systems one particular count of conspiracy to dedicate wire fraud just one rely of conspiracy to commit funds laundering and one particular depend of aggravated identity theft.

If established responsible, the defendant faces a optimum penalty of 20 yrs in jail for the wire fraud and funds laundering offenses, 5 decades for the conspiracy to dedicate personal computer fraud cost, and a necessary consecutive two-calendar year term for the aggravated identification theft offense.

“This style of malware feeds the cybercrime ecosystem, harvesting precious data and making it possible for cyber criminals to steal from harmless Us citizens and citizens around the globe,” U.S. Lawyer Ashley C. Hoff explained.

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Some parts of this article are sourced from:
thehackernews.com