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U.S. Ransomware Attack Suspect Hails From a Small Ukrainian Town

  • Yaroslav Vasinskyi being held on U.S. charges in Poland
  • Ransomware attack on Kaseya among his crimes, prosecutors say
Ransomware attacks on Kaseya affected hundreds of downstream businesses.

Ransomware attacks on Kaseya affected hundreds of downstream businesses.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Dubrovytsia is a small town near Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus that boasts a Nobel laureate, physicist Georges Charpak, and a high school that attracts tech-savvy teenagers interested in math and computer science.

Dubrovytsia is also the hometown of Yaroslav Vasinskyi, who U.S. authorities have accused of executing ransomware attacks using malware from a Russia-linked cybergang known as REvil, or Sodinokibi. Among the most prolific ransomware gangs in recent years, REvil is also accused of the May attack on meatpacking giant JBS SA, and took credit for the hack of Apple supplier Quanta Computer Inc.