Tag Archive for: Latvian

Latvian woman charged for alleged role in transnational ransomware scheme targeting 11 countries | Washington Examiner


A Latvian national faces federal charges for allegedly participating in a transnational plot using ransomware to steal money and other confidential information from victims, including Americans.

Alla Witte, 55, was arraigned in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on Friday on 19 counts in a 47-count indictment brought against the “Trickbot Group,” named for the Trickbot malware used in the plot, according to the Justice Department.

As part of their cybercrime scheme, Witte and other conspirators, who operated in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Suriname, allegedly began using the malware in November 2015 to steal from individuals, hospitals, schools, public utilities, banks, and governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Russia.

UPTICK IN RANSOMWARE ATTACKS SHARES ‘A LOT OF PARALLELS’ WITH 9/11: WRAY

Witte, who resided in Suriname when the cybercrimes occurred, was a developer for the group and oversaw the creation of computer code used to control the ransomware, obtain payment from victims, and store stolen information, according to court documents.

The group infected millions of computers worldwide, including those belonging to individuals and business entities within the Northern District of Ohio, to harvest credit card information, passwords, social security numbers, and addresses and to steal funds from victims’ bank accounts, the indictment said.

“The Trickbot malware was designed to steal the personal and financial information of millions of people around the world, thereby causing extensive financial harm and inflicting significant damage to critical infrastructure within the United States and abroad,” acting U.S. Attorney Bridget Brennan of the Northern District of Ohio said in a Justice Department news release.

A warrant was issued for Witte on Aug. 13, 2020, and she was arrested Feb. 6 in Miami.

Witte faces one count each of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, as well as eight counts of bank fraud and eight counts of aggravated…

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Latvian national charged with writing malware used by Trickbot hackers


Written by Sean Lyngaas

U.S. prosecutors have charged a 55-year-old Latvian national with developing computer code used in tandem with the infamous malicious software known as TrickBot, which has defrauded countless people while infecting tens of millions of computers worldwide.

The defendant, known as Alla Witte, was arraigned in a federal court in Cleveland on Friday after being arrested in Miami in February, the Justice Department said. She is accused of being part of a criminal organization that operated in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Suriname, and which infected the computers of hospitals, schools, public utilities and government agencies in the U.S.

Witte wrote “code related to the control, deployment, and payments of ransomware,” the Justice Department said in a press release. She also allegedly provided computer code to other members of the criminal group that tracked users of the TrickBot malware. The malicious code was designed to steal banking login credentials, credit card numbers and other sensitive personal data that can be used for fraud.

Witte is charged with 19 criminal counts, including with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identify theft.

TrickBot has been one of the prominent hacking tools for scammers in recent years.

Cybercriminals used the malware to assemble a vast botnet, or army of compromised computers, to infect computers with ransomware. Concerned by the threat of ransomware ahead of the 2020 election, U.S. Cyber Command and tech companies sought to knock some of TrickBot’s infrastructure offline, but the botnet has lived on.

In a statement Friday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco lauded Witte’s indictment as an example of the “broad reach” of a new Justice Department task force to combat ransomware. After the disruptions of major fuel and meat suppliers, ransomware has vaulted to among the top national security issues facing the Biden administration.

An attorney for Witte could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. She faces decades in prison if convicted on all charges.

You can read Witte’s full indictment online.

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Latvian developers set record with Christmas tree-lighting Rube Goldberg machine

So you think untangling your Christmas tree lights is tedious?

A group of programmers from an ecommerce development company called Scandiweb spent two months building and testing a 412-step Rube Goldberg machine – a World Guinness Record — that when finished with its 15 minutes of wackiness electrified the capital city of Riga’s Christmas tree.

Fear not, you don’t have to watch all 15 minutes, as this slick video boils it all down to about three:

The most complicated way to light Christmas tree from Scandiweb on Vimeo.

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Network World Paul McNamara