Law enforcement officers of Primorsky Krai have opened criminal proceedings against the alleged organizer of a fraudulent group that gained access to the systems of various Russian organizations and demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency for unlocking them. This is reported by “MIA Media”.

According to investigators, the attackers identified vulnerable computer systems of organizations and disabled protection using malware. By selecting logins and passwords to accounts, they gained access “to legally protected computer information, remotely blocked and modified it.”

Subsequently, they contacted the victims and promised to unlock the data for a reward in cryptocurrency.

Such a scheme brought fraudsters more than 4.5 million rubles.

A resident of Nakhodka is suspected of organizing the group. Law enforcement officers believe that he attracted his son and three local residents to illegal activities.

Initially, 42 criminal cases were initiated against the alleged organizer, later they were combined into one production.

Criminal cases against possible accomplices were separated into separate proceedings, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation reported.

Recall, according to ESET, in the period from May to August 2021, every tenth case of fraud related to cryptocurrencies occurred in Russia.