The U.S. government has charged Russian national Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov for leading the Qakbot botnet, which infected hundreds of thousands of computers globally. Despite dismantling Qakbot’s infrastructure, Gallyamov continued malicious activities, causing significant financial damages and cyber threats. #Qakbot #RustamGallyamov
Keypoints
- Gallyamov began developing Qakbot in 2008 and built a large network of infected devices.
- Qakbot served as a banking trojan, worm, backdoor, and keylogger over its decade-long operation.
- Since 2019, Qakbot facilitated ransomware attacks for gangs like Conti, REvil, and Black Basta.
- The cybercriminal activities resulted in over $58 million in damages within 18 months.
- Law enforcement seized over $24 million in cryptocurrency from Gallyamov and disrupted multiple related operations.