$10M reward for info on Redline malware creator offered by US

The US government is offering up to $10 million for information on threat actors linked to the RedLine malware, including its alleged creator and founder Maxim Alexandrovich Rudometov.

According to the State Department, which administers the Rewards for Justice website, anyone with information on Rudometov, his associates, and their malicious cyber activities should contact the Tor-based tips-reporting channel at: he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onion.

Rudometov, born in Ukraine in 1999, developed and has been selling a data-stealing malware called Redline, say the feds who add that Redline has been used to infect millions of computers worldwide since 202.

Apparently, Rudometov fled to Krasnodar, a city in Russia, after it invaded Ukraine in 2022. As of last fall, he’s believed to still reside in Krasnodar.

Infostealers such as RedLine are used to steal sensitive information from victim’s computers including usernames and passwords, financial information, system information, cookies, and cryptocurrency accounts.

The stolen information – referred to as “logs” – is then sold on cybercrime forums and used for conducting fraudulent activity and other hacks.

“RedLine malware has been used by a wide-range of malicious cyber actors to conduct intrusions against major corporations and critical infrastructure around the world, including targets in the United States,” the bulletin on the the Rewards for Justice website says.

In October 2024, law enforcement from numerous countries targeted RedLine and other related infostealers in Operation Magnus.

The investigators shut down over 1,200 servers, arrested several affiliates, and got control over malware source code, licensing servers, and Telegram-based customer support bots, significantly disrupting RedLine's distribution network.

However, the creator escaped capture. Rudometoc faces up to 35 years in prison if he’s captured, extradited if needed, and convicted.