[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-russian-hacker-extradited-over-years-long-us-phishing-scheme":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},5995,"russian-hacker-extradited-over-years-long-us-phishing-scheme","Russian hacker extradited over years-long US phishing scheme","A Russian national extradited five years after his arrest faces trial for a phishing scheme that used TeamViewer and VNC malware to loot 80,000 PCs.","A Russian national is finally facing a US judge for an alleged phishing scheme that compromised 80,000 computers - five years after his arrest in Cyprus.\n\nThe Justice Department says Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev used roughly 255 fake accounts to spam freelancers through a major gig-work platform's messaging system between June 2016 and November 2017. The messages carried malicious Excel files that, once opened, tricked users into running a macro - a small automated script - that pulled down malware. That malware, known as TVRAT and DarkVNC, hijacked legitimate remote-access tools like TeamViewer and VNC Viewer to hand attackers full control of infected machines. Investigators say stolen data, including e-commerce logins and personal information for hundreds of victims, flowed to a US-hosted command-and-control server paid for in cryptocurrency. Aktulaev was arrested in Cyprus in May 2021, extradited in August 2026, and is due back in a California court on October 5.\n\nThe case is a reminder that phishing rarely means a crude email anymore - it means quietly weaponizing tools people already trust, from freelance-platform inboxes to remote-desktop software. It also shows how slow international cybercrime prosecutions really are: five years between arrest and arraignment, for a scheme that itself unfolded nearly a decade ago.\n\nAn indictment is an accusation, not a verdict, and the same DOJ release that touts a 20-year maximum sentence also leans on a database pulled from a hacked server as its evidence. Worth remembering the FBI is still chasing a separate, far bigger Russian-linked leak - 153 million driver's licenses - so this prosecution is one data point in a longer pattern, not a resolution to it.","[\"phishing\",\"cybercrime\",\"malware\",\"law enforcement\"]","2026-09-02T14:22:37.000Z","2026-09-02T14:56:16.067Z","2026-09-02T14:56:27.987Z","published",null,[],"security",[26,27,28,29],"phishing","cybercrime","malware","law enforcement",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"Tom's Hardware","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tomshardware.com\u002Ftech-industry\u002Fcyber-security\u002Frussian-hacker-faces-up-to-20-years-in-prison-following-extradition-and-indictment-over-us-phishing-campaign-that-allegedly-infected-80-000-pcs-hacker-stole-victims-data-via-remote-access",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,46,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",3385,"2026-09-04T22:17:36.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":24,"count":44,"latest_published_at":45},"Security",565,"2026-09-05T00:03:08.000Z",{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy","policy",300,"2026-09-04T22:18:34.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",152,"2026-09-03T09:26:48.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",97,"2026-09-04T15:29:18.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Science","science",96,"2026-09-03T22:30:00.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Software","software",73,"2026-08-18T07:51:50.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",69,"2026-08-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",54,"2026-09-04T23:36:14.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",37,"2026-09-04T20:22:41.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]