US, UK and Australia sanction Russian cyber firms over ransomware links

Treasury Undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence John Hurley said web companies such as Media Land help cyber criminals attack businesses in the US and allied nations.

LONDON – The US, Australia and Britain announced coordinated sanctions on Nov 19 against Russia-based web company Media Land, accusing it of supporting ransomware operations.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also designated three members of the Russian company’s leadership and three of its sister companies, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

“These so-called bulletproof hosting service providers like Media Land provide cyber criminals essential services to aid them in attacking businesses in the United States and in allied countries,” said Treasury Undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence John Hurley.

Britain announced parallel measures, adding Aeza Group to its Russia sanctions regime and six designations under its cyber regime.

Those include Media Land and another hosting provider, ML.Cloud, along with four individuals accused of involvement in malicious cyber activity.

British sanctions include asset freezes and director disqualification orders for all targets, with travel bans applied to the four individuals.

Aeza Group also faces restrictions on internet and trust services, which prohibit British businesses from providing technical support or hosting services.

ML.Cloud is a Media Land sister company whose technical infrastructure is often used in conjunction with Media Land, including in ransomware and distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks, the US statement said.

The Russian Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for .

Neither Aeza Group nor ML.Cloud immediately responded to a request for .

It was not immediately possible to reach Media Land.

Australia said it was imposing similar measures to align with its partners, citing the need to disrupt ransomware networks that have hit hospitals, schools and businesses. REUTERS