Ukraine–Germany operation targets Black Basta, Russian leader wanted

Police in Ukraine and Germany identified two Ukrainian suspects linked to the Black Basta ransomware group and issued an international wanted notice for the group’s alleged Russian ringleader, Oleg Nefedov, according to the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General’s press release. The operation saw raids at homes connected to Black Basta members, and authorities seized mobile phones, computer equipment and handwritten notes as part of ongoing analysis.

Black Basta has been active since April 2022 and the group has impacted over 500 organisations worldwide, with damages in Germany alone reportedly exceeding 20 million euros and disruptions affecting more than 100 companies in Germany and about 700 globally. The two Ukrainian suspects were described as “hash crackers” who stole and recovered passwords to enable intrusions, data theft and ransomware deployment.

The article also notes that Elliptic and Corvus Insurance, in December 2023, published joint research indicating the group had accumulated at least $107 million in Bitcoin ransom payments and had infected at least 329 victims, including ABB, Capita, Dish Network and Rheinmetall.