Australia has targeted Russian members of Evil Corp, one of the world’s longest running cybercrime groups.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said financial sanctions and travel bans would be imposed on three Russian citizens for their involvement in the group.
Minister Wong said Evil Corp was one of the most prolific and longest running cybercrime groups in the world.
She said for more than a decade, Evil Corp had been responsible for significant cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks across Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, resulting in millions of dollars of losses and disruptions to critical health systems, national infrastructure and government sectors.
“Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, Igor Olegovich Turashev and Aleksandr Viktorovich Ryzhenkov hold senior roles in Evil Corp.
“The sanctions announced today make it a criminal offence to provide assets to these individuals, or to use or deal with their assets. The sanctions also ban them from entering Australia,” Minister Wong said.
She said the sanctions were part of a coordinated effort with the United Kingdom and the United States to deter and respond to malicious cyber activity.
“This is the third use of Australia’s autonomous cyber sanctions framework, and part of ongoing coordinated international law enforcement against cybercrime.”
