Trump Tightens the Noose After Russian Cyber Kingpin is Unmasked

President Trump isn’t playing games when it comes to cybersecurity threats from Russia, and this week, his administration took bold action against Russian ransomware networks targeting American businesses and critical infrastructure.

The U.S. State Department, in coordination with the UK and Australia, announced new sanctions against Zservers, a Russian internet service provider that has been helping cybercriminals operate with impunity.

Zservers is a bulletproof hosting provider—a term used for shadowy web services that cater to criminals by providing untraceable servers resistant to law enforcement takedowns. These services are used for phishing scams, botnets, malware distribution, and ransomware attacks, including those orchestrated by LockBit, one of the most dangerous cyber gangs in the world.

“As a BPH service provider, Zservers provided cybercriminals access to specialized servers and other computer infrastructure designed to resist law enforcement action,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

The Trump administration isn’t mincing words when it comes to Russia’s direct involvement in cybercrime. The State Department accused Moscow of giving cybercriminals a “safe harbor” to launch attacks against the U.S. and its allies.

LockBit has been one of the most destructive ransomware groups, responsible for attacking businesses, banks, government agencies, and critical infrastructure sectors, including agriculture, energy, and emergency services. The group’s biggest recent attack was the November 2023 breach of the Industrial Commercial Bank of China’s U.S. broker-dealer, causing massive financial disruption.

The U.S. Treasury Department has also imposed sanctions on two Russian nationals, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Bolshakov and Alexander Igorevich Mishin, who operated Zservers and helped facilitate these cyberattacks.

“Ransomware actors and other cybercriminals rely on third-party network service providers like Zservers to enable their attacks on U.S. and international critical infrastructure,” said Bradley Smith, acting undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The U.S. has been aggressively hunting LockBit’s leadership, offering up to $15 million in rewards for information leading to arrests. One of the top figures in the ransomware group, Dmitriy Yuryevich Khoroshev, was recently unmasked by UK officials after years of operating in secrecy.

Ironically, Khoroshev had previously offered a $10 million bounty on anyone who could reveal his identity—a challenge that clearly didn’t end well for him.

Since 2020, LockBit has extorted over $120 million from more than 2,000 victims worldwide, demanding hundreds of millions more in ransom payments.

The Trump administration isn’t letting Russia off the hook. While Biden’s weak leadership allowed cybercriminals to flourish, Trump is taking the fight to ransomware gangs and cutting off their ability to operate.

This move sends a strong message—America will not tolerate cyberattacks on its businesses and infrastructure. But with Russia continuing to harbor these criminals, the question remains: How far is Trump willing to go to stop them for good?


Most Popular

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More



Most Popular
Sponsored Content

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More