ROTTEN TO THE CORP

The US is cracking down on Evil Corp.

Evil what now?

Corp. No, this isn't about "Mr. Robot." It's a Russian-based cybercriminal organization that's allegedly stolen over $100 million from hundreds of banks and financial institutions in over 40 countries.

Whoa.

Whoa, indeed. Yesterday, the US Treasury Department brought new sanctions against the org, saying it had used malware (IT speak for software designed to damage computers) to steal people's login information. And that it did this by sending phishing emails with misleading links and attachments.

Who else has been affected by this?

Smaller businesses that didn't have great cyber defenses. When a virus managed to infect people's computers, Evil Corp would use it to steal login info and drain people's bank accounts.

What's being done to stop this?

Key NATO allies, the UK, and the US are all working together to take Evil Corp down. In addition to the sanctions from the Treasury Department, the Justice Department indicted Evil Corp's two alleged leaders: Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev. Worth noting: the US says Yakubets has ties to Russia's intelligence services...but isn't accusing the gov of wrongdoing. A $5 million reward is being offered to anyone who can help with the arrest of these two men.

You mentioned Russia. What does it have to say about all this?

That it has no link to Yakubets. And that it's "groundless" to imply that it does.

Now what?

This isn't the first time the US has worried about alleged Russian hackers (see: the 2016 election, the 2014 email hack). And this latest development isn't exactly easing concerns about foreign interference. Especially as we near the 2020 election.

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