Security Service of Ukraine exposes Odesa hacker involved in hacker attacks on NASDAQ, Ukraine’s infrastructure, with damage to the tune of $300M

The Security Service of Ukraine informed about the exposure of Mikhail Rytikov, a hacker from Odesa and his accomplice. The operation was conducted jointly with the FBI and the US Secret Service, service representatives said at a briefing.

Mikhail Rytikov led a group of hackers that served a bulletproof hosting. The hosting was used by hackers to host resources and conduct cyber-attacks.

The crimes committed with the participation Rytikov include the following:

• Distribution of Zeus malware used to steal financial data. The software was created by Russian hacker Evgeny Bogachov. He is also involved in the creation of software that was used to interfere in the US elections in 2016.
• His name appears in the case of hacking the NASDAQ exchange, which caused damage to the tune of $300 million. Back then the hacking was called “the greatest fraudulent scheme of the kind ever carried out in the US.”
• According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Rytikov’s hosting was used by Russian special services to attack infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.
• The law enforcement also reported that he controlled 40% of the Russian-speaking segment of the darknet.

This is far from a complete list of crimes Rytikov is charged with, says the SSU. US law enforcers suspect him of crimes that might get him up to 50 years in prison.

Currently, Mikhail Rytikov and his accomplice are in Ukraine under house arrest. They are charged with violation of article 361, paragraph 2 (unauthorized interference with the work of computers) and article 301 (import, manufacture, sale, and distribution of pornographic materials).