Russian authorities have arrested the notorious hacker Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev, better known by his alias, Wazawaka. With his help, three ransomware gangs collected over $200 million in ransom payments. The US State Department is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Matveev, 32, is set to be tried in Kaliningrad, Russia. Russian media reports that the cybercriminal is accused of developing specialized malicious software designed to encrypt data and files. He allegedly intended to use it against organizations and demand ransom for decryption.
According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the investigators have collected “sufficient evidence,” and the criminal case with the indictment signed by the prosecutor has been sent to the Central District Court of the city of Kaliningrad, the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Some social media channels report that Wazawaka is currently on bail, has paid two fines, and has “a significant portion of his cryptocurrency confiscated.” Cybernews couldn’t verify this information.
1/3 We have established contact with #Wazawaka
undefined club1337 (@club31337) November 30, 2024
He confirmed that he has been charged under Article 273, 🇷🇺, which outlines criminal liability for creating or modifying computer programs designed to cause unauthorized destruction, blocking, modification, or copying of information pic.twitter.com/PdBgOZ4u3L
Wazawaka is charged in the US with using three ransomware variants – LockBit, Babuk, and Hive – to attack thousands of victims in the US and around the world. Since at least 2020, he and his accomplices have compromised law enforcement and other government agencies, hospitals, schools, and other organizations.
On May 16th, 2023, the Department of Justice (DoJ) assessed that three global ransomware campaigns are responsible for as much as $400 million in ransom demands, while total victim ransom payments amounted to as much as $200 million.
“Matveev is charged with conspiring to transmit ransom demands, conspiring to damage protected computers, and intentionally damaging protected computers. If convicted, he faces over 20 years in prison,” the DoJ said last year.
Information that leads to the suspect's apprehension could result in an award of up to $10 million.
Wazawaka, also, known as Boriscelcin, m1x, and Uhodiransomwar, was known to travel between Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Matveev is on the FBI's Wanted cybercriminals list. The poster claims that he has been identified as one of the alleged developers/administrators behind the Babuk ransomware variant. Babuk was previously used to target the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department.
“Babuk actors executed over 65 attacks against victims in the United States and around the world, issuing over $49 million in ransom demands and receiving as much as $13 million in ransom payments,” the DoJ said.
As an affiliate of LockBit ransomware, Wazawaka attacked a police department in New Jersey, among other victims. While working with Hive, he allegedly conspired to deploy ransomware against a nonprofit behavioral healthcare organization headquartered in Mercer County, New Jersey.
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