US charges ‘bulletproof’ Russian web hosts over cyberattacks that netted cybercrime victims $62m

US prosecutors did Three Russian citizens and two web hosts were charged With hacking, conspiracy and money laundering over their alleged roles in hosting cyberattacks that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to US companies.

The three Russians, Alexander Volosovik, Kirill Zatolokin, and Yulia Bankova, who reside in St. Petersburg, are accused of owning and managing two web hosts, Media Land and ML.Cloud, which allegedly provided state-backed criminals and hackers with web hosting and supporting infrastructure to carry out cyberattacks.

The Russians were first charged in 2024, but the indictment was unveiled this week. Former US Department of the Treasury punished Medialand and ML.Cloud to allow ransomware gangs, including LockBit, Black suitand He playsto use their infrastructure. Economic sanctions prevent Americans and American companies from dealing with Russians or their companies.

Prosecutors said the hackers used web hosts to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks designed to take websites and services offline, launch phishing attacks, and carry out cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure.

Hackers used these companies to launch attacks on dozens of American companies in more than 20 states, and achieved revenues amounting to about $62 million from cybercrimes.

According to the Department of Justice, by offering their services as a “bulletproof” web host, companies intentionally aim to protect their customers from law enforcement demands and takedowns.

The web host suspects are unlikely to be caught, since the hackers are based in Russia and are rarely extradited to the United States. Russia is known to protect its citizens from requests for extradition abroad, but law enforcement authorities have done this before High value suspects arrested When they travel to countries that have diplomatic agreements with the United States.

In a statement, Assistant US Attorney A. Thyssen Duva said the web hosts’ actions “put the American public at risk,” adding: “We will continue to dismantle these networks and protect our critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad.”