One of the world's "most prolific" cyber criminals whose gang once hacked into Merseyrail has been arrested in Canada.
The 33-year-old Russian national, named as Mikhail Vasiliev, is allegedly top of the notorious 'Lockbit' ransomware gang, which targeted critical infrastructure and large corporations across the world, involving demands for millions of dollars.
According to the American Department of Justice (DoJ), LockBit had been used against more than 1,000 victims who had faced ransom demands amounting to millions. In August this year, a Holiday Inn in Turkey was breached by LockBit, which released data stolen from the company.
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Vasiliev was arrested in Bradford, Ontario, in recent days, after an international investigation led by the French National Gendarmerie, and involving Europol, the American FBI and the Canadian Royal Mounted Police. The arrest followed an operation carried out in Ukraine in October 2021 which led to the arrests of two of his accomplices.
The gang are understood to have targeted Merseyrail's internal systems in April 2021, and appeared to have taken over the email account of managing director Andy Heath. The train operator said at the time it had reported the attack to the Information Commissioner's Office and was investigating.
A spokesman for Europol said Vasiliev was one of its high-value targets due to his involvement in numerous high-profile ransomware cases. During a raid on his property, officers also seized two firearms, eight computers and 32 external hard drives.
The investigation also recovered €400,000 in cryptocurrencies. Vasiliev is expected to be extradited to face charges in the United States.
According to the DoJ, the Russian faces charges of conspiring with others to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands in connection with doing so. He is expected to appear before a court in New Jersey following extradition proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said: "International ransomware threats like LockBit are the most pressing cybercrime challenge facing law enforcement today. These attacks cause disruption and damage to their victims that far exceed the dollar figures of ransom demands or payments, which are themselves significant.
"However, the United States is up for this challenge and will use all legal means to find the perpetrators of these attacks and bring them to justice."
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