Australia slaps sanctions on Russian cybercrime groups, Richard Marles reveals
Australia has imposed sanctions on Russian cybercrime organisations over their role in ransomware and cyber attacks.
Media Land LLC, its sister company ML.Cloud LLC, and two key figures within both organisations - Aleksandr Alexandrovich Volosovik and Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin - were sanctioned on Thursday in a joint move by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Cybercriminals allegedly use the companies’ infrastructure for ransomware, phishing and Distributed Denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks in Australia and around the world.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.But under the measures, anyone in Australia who use their resources or provide them with assets could have up to 10 years in prison and steep fines.
“These sanctions don’t just impose costs on criminals, they dismantle the infrastructure that enables cybercrime,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said.
“By disrupting these networks, we make it harder for others to launch attacks and it strengthens Australia’s resilience against future threats.”
The sanctions will also prevent Volosovik and Zatolokin from entering Australia.
Almost half of Australian internet users became victims of cybercrime in the past year, a government report released in August found.
More than one in four experienced online abuse or harassment while one-fifth were victims of identity crime, another fifth encountered malware attacks about about one in 10 fell victim to fraud or scams, according to the 2024 Cybercrime in Australia report.
“We will continue to do everything we can to break down the networks and alienate the individuals who are driving cyber attacks against Australia and Australian interests,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.
“This is one of the fastest growing threats our country faces and our government will ensure we are ready to face it.”
Australia in 2024 imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on other individuals involved in the mistreatment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in custody.
The Federal Government has also slapped sanctions on more than 1100 individuals and entities who have supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
