Russian National Indicted in Freelance Malware Scheme

A Russian national, Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, has been indicted for distributing malware targeting freelance workers, leading to the compromise of approximately 80,000 accounts. Between June 2016 and November 2017, he allegedly used 255 fraudulent accounts to send phishing messages with malicious Excel attachments, deploying malware like TVRAT and DarkVNC. Aktulaev was extradited from Cyprus to California on August 28, 2026, and faces charges including computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Authorities advise remote workers to avoid running macros from unsolicited documents.