Russia announces the dismantling of a hacker group at the request of the United States What is the story?

The Russian Federal Security Service announced the dismantling of the "Revell" hacking group, which is considered the most dangerous in terms of ransomware, at the request of the United States, and the authorities said that it seized the equivalent of 426 million rubles and 20 luxury cars during the operation.

Russia announced Friday that it has dismantled the most dangerous hacking group "Revell" in terms of ransomware, at the request of the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden had expressed during a summit held in June their desire to strengthen their cooperation in combating cybercrime, against the backdrop of repeated crises and accusations against Moscow in this regard.

The Federal Security Service said in a statement that after an operation carried out by the Russian security services and the Russian police, "the presence of this organized criminal group was put to an end," adding that searches were carried out "at the request of the competent American authorities", targeting 14 people and 25 addresses in five Russian regions, most notably the capital, Moscow. And Saint Petersburg, the second city in the country, allowed the seizure of the equivalent of 426 million rubles (about 4.8 million euros) and 20 luxury cars.

The Federal Security Service did not specify the number of detainees, but broadcast videos of the arrests.

The same source explained that the members of the group "developed malicious programs and organized the embezzlement of funds from bank accounts of foreign nationals and spent them."

In Washington, a US official praised the arrests but separated the case from tensions in Ukraine. "I want to be very clear, in our minds this is not about what is happening with Russia and Ukraine," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

"I am not talking about the Kremlin's motives, but we are happy with these preliminary measures," she added.

And she added, "We have also been very clear. If Russia invades Ukraine again...we will impose a heavy price on Russia in coordination with our allies."

In early July 2021, the Russian-speaking hacking group, also known as Sudinokibi, claimed responsibility for the ransomware attack on the American computer company Cassia.

In light of this, Joe Biden, during a phone call with Vladimir Putin, requested action to prevent attacks from Russia, otherwise the United States will take "necessary measures."

In early November, European and US authorities announced the arrest of seven hackers in an international operation targeting "Revell" and the "Gandgrab" ransomware group.

Extortion occurs by breaking into the network of a company or organization, encrypting its data, and then demanding a ransom, usually paid in cryptocurrency, in exchange for a digital key to restart the network.

And ransomware attacks are a type of digital ransomware that Interpol estimates at billions of dollars and is constantly growing.

According to the US Treasury, it paid $590 million in ransoms in the United States in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $416 in 2020.