European police and the FBI have dismantled an international gang of cybercriminals: three Russians are on the run

German police reported dismantling a international cybercriminal gang which has been blackmailing large companies and institutions for years and raising millions of euros.

In collaboration with law enforcement agencies such as Europolhe FBI and the Ukrainian authorities, the Düsseldorf police were able to identify 11 people linked to a group that has acted in different ways at least since 2010. In recent years, it has been called Indrik Spider, Double Spider there Grief.

Among its most important victims are the UK National Health Service and the Düsseldorf University Hospitalwhose computers have been infected with a type of Ransomware known as DoppelPaymer in 2020. A woman who needed urgent treatment died after having to be transferred to another city for treatment.

Dirk Künzehead of the cybercrime department of the North Rhine-Westphalia state police, said he had identified at least 601 victims worldwide, including 37 in Germany. Europol said victims in the United States had paid at least 40 million euros ($42.5 million) to the gang between May 2019 and March 2021 for disclosing important data that was electronically locked using the malware.

The group specializing inbig hunt, Kunze said, and he ran a professional recruiting operation, luring in new members with the promise of paid time off and asking candidates to find references to past cybercrimes.

According to Kunze, the police carried out simultaneous raids on Germany there Ukraine on February 28, seizing evidence and arresting several suspects.

Others three suspects could not be apprehendeds because they are beyond the reach of European law enforcement, Kunze said.

German police identified the fugitives as the Russian citizens Igor Turashev41 years old, and Irinia Zemlyanikinaof 36, and Igor Garshin31 years old, born in Russia but whose nationality was not immediately known.

(With AP information)

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