German Authorities Identify Russian Hacker "UNKN" as Leader of REvil and GandCrab Ransomware Groups
By
Bender
The kind of bagel that ruins lesser bagels for you.
Summary
German authorities have identified and publicly named Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin, a 31-year-old Russian national, as the previously elusive hacker known as "UNKN" who led the ransomware groups GandCrab and REvil. The German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) revealed that Shchukin was responsible for at least 130 acts of computer sabotage and extortion against German victims between 2019 and 2021. This public identification represents a significant law enforcement action against major ransomware operators.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAn elusive hacker who went by the handle 'UNKN' and ran the early Russian ransomware groups GandCrab and REvil now has a name and a face.
Authorities in Germany say 31-year-old Russian Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin headed both cybercrime gangs and helped carry out at least 130 acts of computer sabotage and extortion against victims across the country between 2019 and 2021.
Shchukin was named as UNKN (a.k.a. UNKNOWN) in an advisory published by the German Federal Criminal Police (the 'Bundeskriminalamt' or BKA for short).
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