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Decade-Long Hack Ends: Russian Nabbed in US
2 Sep
Summary
- Russian national arrested for a decade-old malware campaign.
- Malware spread via malicious Excel attachments to 80,000 workers.
- Hacker extradited to US after arrest in Cyprus.
A Russian national, identified as Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, has been arrested and extradited to the United States over a decade after initiating a significant malware campaign. Federal investigators announced his capture, ending a long pursuit for the individual accused of targeting freelance workers.
Aktulaev allegedly operated between June 2016 and November 2017, using approximately 255 fake accounts to send malicious Microsoft Excel attachments. These attachments prompted users to run macros, which secretly downloaded and executed malware, including TeamSpy and DarkVNC. These variants exploited legitimate remote access software, enabling unauthorized access to victim computers for data theft and fraud.
The campaign significantly impacted freelance workers, with around 80,000 users potentially exposed. Thousands of computers were confirmed to be infected, with roughly half of the victims located in the United States, particularly in Northern California. The indictment against Aktulaev was filed in 2021 and unsealed recently, following his arrest in Cyprus in May 2025.
Aktulaev made his initial court appearance in San Francisco on Monday. If convicted on all charges, which include fraud and computer hacking, he faces a maximum sentence of over 35 years in prison. His apprehension marks a significant success for federal investigators in dismantling sophisticated cybercrime operations.
