US Indicts Ukrainian Hackers Who Stole Millions of Credit and Debit Card Numbers (reuters.com)

Three Ukrainians associated with the hacking group FIN7 have been arrested in Europe in connection with hacks of more than 100 U.S. companies that led to tens of millions of dollars in losses, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing U.S. officials and court documents. From the report: Fin7 has been linked to breaches affecting hotels bearing the name of U.S. President Donald Trump, Whole Foods, Chipotle, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, according to cyber security firm Trend Micro. The suspects, Fedir Hladyr, Dmytro Fedorov and Andrii Kolpakov, were arrested in Europe between January and June of this year, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. Hladyr is in U.S. custody and U.S. authorities are seeking extradition of the other two, the department said. The three were arrested in connection with computer hacks to steal customer payment card data and other information from more than 100 U.S. companies, the department said.

Comments

So, why is it *not* the Ukrainian government?

[bogaboga]

Three Ukrainians associated with the hacking group FIN7 have been arrested in Europe in connection with hacks of more than 100 U.S. companies that led to tens of millions of dollars in losses...

I wonder how the USA was able to infer that these Ukrainians weren't government backed.

In other words, question is: If these were Russians would the USA have gone for them [directly] or directly accused the Russian government like it has done in the no-so-distant past?

On a side note, doesn't this show that our systems are inherently weak ?

Re:So, why is it *not* the Ukrainian government?

[zlives]

please don't demean back alley consensual blowjobs.

Re:So, why is it *not* the Ukrainian government?

[ShanghaiBill]

On a side note, doesn't this show that our systems are inherently weak ?

Duh. Any system based on the same information being both secret and widely shared is inherently weak.

The solution is to implement the fixes that the rest of the world has already done.

Note that the Ukrainians only stole American CC #s.

Re:So, why is it *not* the Ukrainian government?

[piers_downunder]

Stealing money anonymously is hard, because you have to have a real-world end point for that money. In the case of stolen credit cards, it can be easy to trace where and when these transactions occurred. If they were selling the CC information itself, then it might be the buyer who was compromised.

IOW, hacking to steal money is a lot harder to keep anonymous, than hacking to steal information. Once you know the individuals involved, it's much easier to spy on them and see whether they are working in a criminal gang from their basement, or clocking on at a government owned building in Moscow.

Re: So, why is it *not* the Ukrainian government?

[houghi]

In Belgium we had a white hat hacker we got some publicity. Some people said he was not a real hacker as he just used Psswrd and got in.

He stated that that made it even worse.

Re:big deal

[PopeRatzo]

Aziz was initially non-verbal and combative when police arrived at the scene, reports the PostBulletin.

He was later quoted as saying, "I gouged out my granpappy's eyes to own the libs."

Re:What about the rigged U.S. markets

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

and microsecond trading, and all the illicit actions of the large financial institutes that rig the markets and act as giant pumps that suck up foreign capital and embed into the U.S.? Why are we not indicting those people?

Dear Rooskie troll,

Rich people, especially the powerful elites in many corrupt places around the world, invest in the US because it's a safe, stable place. Unlike their own countries, with unstable money nobody but the captured citizens want, and is at risk of being stolen by the inevitable new corrupt elite. So keep it in a stable currency in a stable nation.

Why do you think US sanctions on Putin's pals hurts so much? It's just on their money...over here.