Alleged Russian ransomware attacker arraigned in federal court

A Russian national made his initial appearance in a Northern Ohio District federal court Thursday after being extradited from South Korea to face charges in his alleged role in a transnational, cybercriminal organization. According to court documents, Vladimir Dunaev, 38, was a member of an organization that deployed a computer banking trojan and ransomware suite of malware known as "Trickbot." Dunaev pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of 60 years in prison. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Bridget Brennan and FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Smith of the Cleveland Field Office announced Dunaev's arrest and court appearance Thursday. Monaco said Trickbot attacked business and victims "across the globe and infected millions of computers for theft and ransom, including networks of schools, banks, municipal governments, and companies in the health care, energy, and agriculture sectors." "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," Brennan said. Federal officials said the case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice's Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force, which was created to combat a growing number of ransomware and digital extortion attacks. Between November 2015 and August 2020, Dunaev and others stole money and confidential information and damaged computer systems from unsuspecting victims, including individuals, financial institutions, school districts, utility companies, government entities and private businesses, authorities said. He and other defendants allegedly used a network of co-conspirators and freelance computer programmers, known as the Trickbot Group, to create, deploy and manage the Trickbot malware, which infected millions of computers and computer systems. Dunaev is accused of managing the malware's execution, developing popular browser modifications and helping conceal the malware from detection by security software. Alla Witte, a Latvian national, also has been charged in connection with the Trickbot scheme. Smith said victims of cyber fraud should file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.