The Brussels Criminal Court has sentenced a Russian hacker to 7 years in prison. His former partner is sentenced to 5 years in prison, of which 1 year is suspended. The couple used the malicious software Crylock to remotely block computer files and demand ransom. In this way, they earned millions of euros. It is also remarkable that they are each sentenced to 2 years in prison because they refused to cooperate with the justice system.
Joris Truyts and Chris Verhaeghe report:
Main suspect US (sic) is seen as the head of a criminal organization and the developer of Crylock. Via email or remotely he was able to infect thousands of computers with the malicious program and then demanded ransom.
The other defendant, ET, was one of his employees, according to the court. The woman allegedly promoted the ransomware to potential buyers and negotiated ransom payments with victims. In 2015, she allegedly became the victim of a cyberattack herself. She then allegedly contacted the main defendant and they became a couple. This is no longer the case.
The proceeds of the cyber fraud, more than 60 million euros in bitcoins, have been confiscated. VS (sic) gets a total of 7 years effective prison sentence. For ET that is 5 years, of which 1 year suspended. It is striking that both defendants get 2 years prison sentence because they refused to cooperate with the investigation. That is the maximum sentence.
Read more at VRT.
h/t, Risky Biz News