The U.S. and two allies have sanctioned a Russian company for providing “bulletproof hosting” services to ransomware gangs and other cyber criminals.
The Treasury Department, along with its partners in Australia and the U.K., on Wednesday announced sanctions against the Russian hosting firm Media Land, three of its leaders and three of its sister companies.
Media Land, based in St. Petersburg, has supplied infrastructure to LockBit, BlackSuit and ransomware operators and has played a role in distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure firms and other businesses, Treasury said.
In addition to Media Land, the sanctions targeted the company’s general director, its financial manager and one of its payment collectors, as well as two of its subsidiaries and an associated company that shares its technical infrastructure.
The U.S. and the U.K. also increased the financial pressure on another bulletproof hosting provider, Aeza Group, which the Treasury Department sanctioned July 1. On Wednesday, the two nations sanctioned Aeza’s new U.K.-based front company, Hypercore, which Aeza has used to continue operating its infrastructure and evading sanctions, as well as Aeza’s new director, another employee and two sister companies based in Serbia and Uzbekistan.
Bulletproof hosting firms “provide cybercriminals essential services to aid them in attacking businesses in the United States and in allied countries,” John Hurley, the undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “Today’s trilateral action with Australia and the United Kingdom, in coordination with law enforcement partners, demonstrates our collective commitment to combatting cybercrime and protecting our citizens.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also released guidance for internet services providers and network defenders to help them mitigate cyberattacks powered by bulletproof hosting services.