One of the leaders of the notorious cybercriminal group JabberZeus, a citizen of Ukraine, Vyacheslav Penchukov (also known as “Tank” and “Father”) was arrested in 2022 — while traveling with his wife to Geneva, Switzerland — and extradited to the United States in 2023 .
The US Department of Justice first indicted the hacker in 2012 — for participating in an operation using the Zeus malware and stealing a million dollars using personal identification numbers, bank account numbers, credentials and other sensitive information stolen from infected devices.
Penchukov was also one of the leaders of the Maze ransomware operation. Later, to avoid responsibility, it was renamed to Egregor and Sekhmet – however, the hacker and other suspects were detained in 2021 by the Ukrainian police as part of a joint international operation.
As noted by investigative journalist Brian Krebs, Penchukov avoided punishment in Ukraine for a long time due to his high-ranking connections – in particular, the late son of Viktor Yanukovych is mentioned.
Penchukov also ran the IcedID (or Bokbot) malware operation and was wanted by the FBI for over 10 years.
“Vyacheslav Penchukov was the leader of two groups that infected thousands of computers with malicious software. They stole millions of dollars from their victims and even attacked a major hospital with ransomware, leaving it unable to provide critical care to patients for two weeks,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri.
Penchukov pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges and his leadership role in Operation Zeus; and on charges of conspiracy to defraud and his leadership role in the IcedID malware operations.
The hacker faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count. The sentencing is scheduled for May 9.
Source: Bleeping Computer
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