Get the latest tech news

Notorious Hacker Kingpin ‘Tank’ Is Finally Going to Prison


The cybercrime boss, who helped lead the prolific Zeus malware gang and was on the FBI’s “most wanted” list for years, has been sentenced to 18 years and ordered to pay more than $73 million.

It also highlights the ongoing challenges Western law enforcement officials face when taking action against Eastern European cybercriminals—particularly those based in Russia or Ukraine, which do not have extradition agreements with the US. Penchukov, who was also a well-known DJ in Ukraine, also admitted to a key role organizing the IcedID (also known Bokbot) malware, which collected the victim’s financial details and allowed ransomware to be deployed on systems. In 2010, as detailed by WIRED’s 2017 cover story chronicling the hunt for the Zeus creators, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies had identified Penchukov and other members by analyzing their Jabber chat messages seized from a US-based server.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Wired

Read more on:

Photo of prison

prison

Photo of tank

tank

Related news:

News photo

How Wikileaks Founder Assange Won Fight to Avoid Prison

News photo

Julian Assange released from prison, WikiLeaks says, after striking deal with US justice department

News photo

Julian Assange has been released from prison in a plea deal with the US