Tag Archive for: Businessman

Feds close case of Kremlin-connected Russian tech businessman accused of hacking non-public reports of U.S. companies


The fate of a Kremlin-connected Russian tech businessman accused of directing an $82 million hacking scheme of non-public reports of U.S. companies and then illegally trading off this information is now in the hands of a federal jury.

Attorneys made their closing arguments Friday following the two-week trial of Vladislav Klyushin in federal court in Boston’s Seaport District.

The defense argued that the case was politically motivated and built on “predetermined conclusions.” The prosecution argued that Klyushin’s trading activities had only a “one-in-a-trillion chance” of being coincidental and unconnected to the hacking.

Klyushin was a director of Moscow, Russia-based M-13, a company, according to court documents, which provided services including the “monitoring and analytics of media and social media messages” and penetration testing — a service in which a company tests for security vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure. The company claimed it was used by Russian government agencies and even by President Vladimir Putin’s office.

He was arrested while on a ski trip in Switzerland in March 2021 and then extradited to the U.S. to face four counts related to conspiracy and wire and securities fraud.

Klyushin was indicted alongside alleged co-conspirators Ivan Ermakov and Nikolai Rumiantcev on April 6, 2020. Two others, Mikhail Irzak and Igor Sladkov, have also been charged in the case. All of the alleged conspirators, excepting Klyushin, remain at large.

Ermakov, the alleged lead hacker, is a former officer in the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) also wanted by the FBI after he and 11 others were indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. in July 2018 for allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

“What’s not in dispute is that the hackers were sophisticated, they were experts,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank during the prosecution’s rebuttal, the last of the arguments heard before the jurors were given instructions by Judge Patti B. Saris.

Prosecutors allege Klyushin directed a scheme in which hackers at his company obtained quarterly and annual reports of major companies before they were made public by…

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The Sheikh, the Businessman and a Hacking Mystery on 3 Continents


Though the judge questioned the credibility of that story, his ruling against Mr. Azima should have ended the case. But soon, a reporter with Reuters contacted one of his lawyers and said the news organization had records indicating that BellTroX had sent him phishing emails.

Mr. Azima, Mr. Massaad, their lawyers and other associates would uncover over 150 phishing emails, sent to them between 2015 and 2017, that bore the fingerprints of BellTroX, court filings state.

Mr. Azima’s lawyers then hired a private investigator. That investigator, Jonas Rey, stated in an affidavit filed in Mr. Azima’s London lawsuit that an unnamed associate in India put him in touch with a computer specialist who used to work at CyberRoot.

According to the investigator’s affidavit, that ex-employee, Vikash Kumar Pandey, told him that CyberRoot had used BellTroX’s hacking infrastructure to send phishing emails because it lacked the technical ability to do so. Mr. Pandey also allegedly said Mr. Del Rosso, the private detective, had directed CyberRoot’s actions.

Records show that Mr. Del Rosso’s firm paid CyberRoot over $1 million between 2015 and 2017. Last year, Mr. Azima sued Mr. Del Rosso in a federal court in North Carolina, accusing him of hacking.

Mr. Del Rosso, who did not respond to emails seeking comment, has rejected the allegation and said in court papers that all his payments to CyberRoot were for legitimate services. He added that he had never heard of Mr. Pandey. The other investigator, Mr. Page, who did not respond to requests for comment, has denied any role in hacking.

The lawsuit filed by Mr. Azima is not expected to go to trial in London until next year, and Mr. Pandey, the computer specialist, is unlikely to testify.

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Trial of Houston businessman stirs debate over U.S. crackdown on China’s economic espionage – Washington Post

Trial of Houston businessman stirs debate over U.S. crackdown on China’s economic espionage  Washington Post

Five years ago, Houston entrepreneur Shan Shi saw an opportunity in China’s thirst for oil under the South China Sea and founded a company to learn how to …

“china espionage” – read more

Businessman sues Google over ‘data breach’ – Herald Scotland


Herald Scotland

Businessman sues Google over 'data breach'
Herald Scotland
Google has been sued by a businessman who says he has suffered damage and distress because internet users have had access to "sensitive personal data". The businessman wants a judge to order Google to block access to information about him.

and more »

“data breach” – Google News