US unseals charges against Russian bulletproof hosts

U.S. prosecutors have unsealed charges against three Russian nationals and two web hosting companies over their alleged role in supporting cyberattacks that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to U.S. businesses.

According to the indictment, Alexander Volosovik, Kirill Zatolokin, and Yulia Pankova, all based in St. Petersburg, owned and operated Media Land and ML.Cloud. Prosecutors say the companies acted as “bulletproof” web hosts, offering infrastructure designed to help criminal customers avoid law enforcement requests and takedowns.

The three were first charged in 2024, but the indictment was only unsealed this week. The U.S. Treasury had already sanctioned Media Land and ML.Cloud, saying they allowed ransomware groups including LockBit, BlackSuit, and Play to use their infrastructure. Those sanctions prohibit Americans and U.S. businesses from doing business with the suspects or their companies.

Recommended reading

AI won’t replace penetration testers just yet

The Justice Department said hackers used the hosting providers to carry out:

• distributed denial-of-service attacks
• phishing campaigns
• cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the United States

Prosecutors said the infrastructure was used in attacks on dozens of U.S. businesses across more than 20 states, generating about $62 million in cybercrime proceeds.

The defendants are unlikely to be arrested soon, since they are in Russia, where extraditions to the United States are rare. Still, U.S. authorities have previously detained high-profile suspects when they traveled to countries that have extradition agreements with Washington.

“We will continue to dismantle these networks and protect our critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad.”