Russian National Accused of Role in Trickbot Is Extradited to US

Russian national Vladimir Dunaev has been extradited from the Republic of Korea to the United States, where he faces charges for his alleged role in the transnational cybercriminal group that deployed Trickbot malware, the Justice Department reported this week.

The indictment asserts that from November 2015 through August 2020, Dunaev and others stole money and confidential data and damaged computer systems from victims including individuals, financial institutions, school districts, utility companies, government entities, and private businesses. The defendants allegedly used co-conspirators and freelance programmers, known as the TrickBot Group, to develop, deploy, and manage Trickbot, which infected millions of systems worldwide.

Dunaev is alleged to have been a co-conspirator and malware developer for the Trickbot Group, for which he allegedly managed the malware execution, developed browser modifications, and helped evade detection by security software.

He is now charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted on all counts, he will face a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison.

Read more details here.