US offers highest-ever reward for Russian hacker

Monday, 2 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: The US State Department and FBI last week announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Russian national Evgeniy Bogachev, the highest bounty US authorities have ever offered in a cyber case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also issued a “Wanted” poster for Bogachev, who is charged in the United States with running a computer attack network called GameOver Zeus that allegedly stole more than $100 million from online bank accounts. Bogachev has been charged by federal authorities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in connection with his alleged role as administrator of GameOver Zeus. He also faces federal bank fraud conspiracy charges in Omaha, Nebraska related to his alleged involvement in an earlier variant of Zeus malware known as “Jabber Zeus.” Bureau officials said they believed Bogachev was still in Russia. He could not immediately be reached for comment. Joseph Demarest, head of the FBI’s cyber crime division, said the agency is aware of 60 different cyber threat groups linked to nation-states. He did not identify which countries were believed to be behind these groups. Demarest said that Russia’s internal security agency, the FSB, had recently expressed tentative interest in working with US authorities on investigating cybercrimes. He did not link the offer of cooperation to the Bogachev case.