Benderskiy is alleged to have used his influence with the Russian state to protect the group. The Russian state’s activities have played “a particularly significant role” in the Evil Corp story, claims the NCA, who add that Russia has “sometimes even co-opt[ed] this cybercrime group for its own malicious cyber activity”.
But this isn’t the only reason they have been able to continue their activities for so long. With cryptocurrencies used to facilitate their transactions, groups like these can be hard for law enforcement to tackle.
Cybercriminals “are not using traditional banking networks where things are heavily tracked and monitored,” explains Nurse. “They’re using cryptocurrencies that are harder to track and [allow more] anonymity.”
The international nature of cybercrime also poses a problem for authorities, he says. “A significant challenge has always been people in jurisdictions that don’t have extradition treaties or whose governments allow or support these types of activities. Even when we have people who are named publicly, often the reality is that unless that person leaves the country and goes somewhere else where there are extradition treaties [it’s hard to apprehend them].”
But the British arrests in the summer have not been the only ones. In the same month, French authorities arrested a suspected LockBit developer and Spanish police detained another person accused of facilitating LockBit infrastructure. In Spain, they also seized nine servers used by the group.
The British Government, for its part, is talking tough. “I am making it my personal mission to target the Kremlin with the full arsenal of sanctions at our disposal,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week. “Putin has built a corrupt mafia state with himself at its centre. We must combat this at every turn, and today’s action is just the beginning.”
