WASHINGTON – A Ukrainian national accused of a major ransomware attack will face charges in Texas after his extradition from Poland, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Yaroslav Vasinskyi, 22, is charged with unleashing ransomware known as Sodinokibi/REvil against companies including Kaseya, a multi-national information software company, and demanding $70 million in ransom, according to his August 2021 indictment.
He was arranged in a federal court in Texas Wednesday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland had announced last year investigating ransomware would be a priority.
“The United States, alongside our international partners, will continue to swiftly identify, locate, and apprehend alleged cybercriminals, capture their illicit profits, and bring them to justice,” Garland said in a statement Wednesday.
REvil had been linked to ransomware that targeted the world’s largest meat producer, Brazil-based JBS SA, and an attack that snarled businesses worldwide last year.
JBS resumed operations in June after servers in North America and Australia were targeted. Backup servers weren’t affected and the company said it was not aware of any customer, supplier or employee data being compromised.
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