14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this year, Russian authorities reportedly arrested Paunch, the man suspected of being the creator of the notorious BlackHole exploit kit. Russia has been quiet on the matter, until now.
According to a statement made by Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, in addition to Paunch, they’ve also arrested and prosecuted 12 other alleged cybercriminals.
Authorities say the cybercriminals caused losses totaling around 70 million Russian Rubles (2.1 million USD / 1.5 million EUR).
The ministry reports that the suspects used the BlackHole exploit kit to distribute banking Trojans designed to steal sensitive information from infected computers. They’ve used the stolen information to empty bank accounts.
Customers of financial institutions from Moscow, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, Krasnodar, Petrozavodsk and Kursk are said to be affected.
Ever since the arrest of Paunch, the BlackHole exploit kit has almost completely disappeared. Cybercriminals are currently looking for alternatives, one of their favorites apparently being the Neutrino exploit kit.