Russians May Be Indicted in FIN7 Hacker Group's Cyber Attack Case - Source

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian nationals may be charged in the US authorities’ investigation of cyberattacks on banks around the world by the FIN7 hacker group, also known as Carbanak, a source familiar with the probe told Sputnik.

The US Department of Justice announced earlier on Wednesday that three Ukrainian nationals — Dmytro Fedorov, 44, Fedir Hladyr, 33, and Andrii Kolpakov, 30, all high-ranking members of FIN7 — have been indicted in US District Court in Seattle.

"There are Russian [citizens] in that case, and others, there are many, many others," the source said on Wednesday. "I practically guarantee that a large percentage of those, even up to 40 percent, will be Russians." The source pointed out that Russia was one of the Ukrainian hackers’ favorite places to sale personal credit and debit card data they had stolen.

"That means that they [cards] will also be cashed out in Russia, they are not only cashed in the United States," the source said. The source could not tell if Russian citizens were among the organizers of the criminal scheme.

"These [affected] taxpayers may not earn millions, but they [hackers] will collect a hundred or two thousand dollars on these cards, and there will be many such cards," the source explained.

The source also said US law enforcement will likely not contact their Russian counterparts regarding the case.

"They will not do that. They will wait until the Russian hackers cash them. Then they will go to Poland for vacation, and cash them there, and they will be detained right there," the source said.

US authorities set a trial date for Hladyr on October 22 and issued an extradition request for Fedorov and Kolpakov, the Justice Department said in a press release.

The FIN7 members since 2015 allegedly engaged in a highly sophisticated malware campaign targeting more than 100 US companies, predominantly in the restaurant, gaming and hospitality industries. The hackers stole millions of customer credit and debit card numbers, which the group used or sold for profit, the Justice Department said.

Each of the three FIN7 conspirators has been charged with 26 felony counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, computer hacking, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department said.

In January 2018, at the request of US officials, foreign authorities separately arrested Hladyr and Fedorov. Hladyr was arrested in Dresden, Germany, and is currently detained in Seattle pending trial. Fedorov was arrested in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, and remains detained there pending his extradition to the United States.

In late June 2018, foreign authorities arrested Kolpakov in Lepe, Spain. He remains detained there pending the United States’ request for extradition.

The Justice Department said FIN7 used a front company, Combi Security, purportedly headquartered in Russia and Israel, to provide a guise of legitimacy and to recruit hackers to join the criminal enterprise. The sham company’s website listed multiple US victims among its purported clients, the Justice Department added.