A Russian citizen appeared before a federal court on a case of participation in a conspiracy to inject malicious software into a company's computer network, extract data from the network, and blackmail.
27-year-old Russian citizen Yegor Igorevich Kryuchkov is accused of conspiracy to intentionally damage a protected computer. He was arrested on August 22, 2020 in Los Angeles.
According to court documents, from about July 15, 2020 to August 22, 2020, Kryuchkov colluded with accomplices to hire a company employee to inject malware into a computer network. The malware would presumably give Kryuchkov and his associates access to files on the company's computer system. Kryuchkov and his accomplices, having received the information they were interested in, would then threaten to make it public if the company did not pay the ransom.
Kryuchkov entered the United States with a Russian passport and tourist visa. He met with a company employee many times to discuss the details of the cyber attack. Kryuchkov promised to pay the employee $ 1 million after the malware is installed.
After being contacted by the FBI, Kryuchkov left Reno, Nevada, for Los Angeles at night and asked an acquaintance to buy a plane ticket for him, trying to escape the country.
