US, UK and Australia Sanction Russian Cyber Firm Over Ransomware Links
The US, UK, and Australia have announced joint sanctions against Russian company Media Land and its subsidiaries for their involvement in global ransomware operations.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters.
The sanctions cover Media Land, ML.Cloud LLC, and Aeza Group LLC, as well as three company executives and four individuals involved in cyberattacks.
The imposed punitive measures include asset freezes, travel bans, disqualification of directors, and restrictions on providing technical support or hosting services to British companies.
The UK has identified Media Land as one of the largest operators of “bulletproof hosting” services, which provide infrastructure for ransomware and phishing attacks. The company's leader, Alexander Voloskovik, known under the pseudonym Yalishanda, is associated with cybercriminal groups such as Evil Corp, LockBit, and Black Basta, and has been active in the cyber underground since 2010.
The US emphasizes that companies such as Media Land provide criminals with critical services for attacks on businesses and organizations in the US and allied countries. Australia, meanwhile, has joined the sanctions to stop cyberattacks on hospitals, schools, and businesses.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry welcomed the introduction of sanctions against Russian hosting providers by the UK, the US, and Australia.
“The Ukrainian side regards these decisions as an important contribution to the joint fight against cybercrime and the Russian Federation’s malicious activity in the digital domain, and as a step toward curbing the operations of Russian structures involved in hybrid aggression,” the statement said.
Ukraine also confirmed its readiness to work with its allies to strengthen countermeasures against Russian threats in cyberspace and to defend democratic states.
Earlier, the United States has imposed broad sanctions on Aeza Group, a Russian cyber infrastructure provider, along with two affiliated entities and four executives, for enabling global cybercriminal activities, including ransomware attacks, information theft, and dark web narcotics distribution.
It is known that Aeza Group’s “bulletproof hosting” services supported threat actors behind major malware families and targeted U.S. defense contractors, high-tech firms, and individuals worldwide, with coordinated sanctions also applied to a UK-based front company.
Russian cyber structures systematically conduct subversive activities against Western states and Ukraine, including ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure, phishing campaigns, cyber espionage, and the spread of disinformation to increase geopolitical influence and destabilize democratic societies.
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