• US, UK, and Australia sanctioned Russia-based bulletproof hosting provider Media Land
• Leaders Volosovik, Zatolokin, and Pankova linked to ransomware groups like Evil Corp and LockBit
• Media Land aided phishing, malware, and DDoS attacks; allied nations also targeted Aeza and Hypercore

Mere days after police seized infrastructure belonging to the CrazyRDP bulletproof hosting provider, news emerged of a similar organization also being locked down.

This time, the target is Media Land – a Russia-based bulletproof hosting provider which, according to government agencies in the US, UK, and Australia, facilitated ransomware attacks and supported other, various cybercriminal activities.

The US Treasury said its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning the organization, as well as its key leaders – Aleksandr Volosovik (Media Land’s general director, and the person who advertised the organization on the dark web), Kirill Zatolokin (who collected payments and coordinated with other cybercriminals), and Yulia Pankova (who was in charge of legal and finances). Volosovik was also allegedly affiliated with other threat actors, such as Evil Corp, Black Basta, and LockBit.

Targeting fronts and support

Media Land’s infrastructure was used in all sorts of malicious campaigns, from phishing, to malware. In the announcement, it was also said the company was used in a DDoS attack against US companies and critical infrastructure.

Besides Media Land, the three nations are also sanctioning Aeza Group, a company that was already designated in July and tried to evade the sanctions by rebranding, as well as Hypercore, a UK-based front for Aeza. There are also Serbian and Uzbek companies that served as support

“These so-called bulletproof hosting service providers like Media Land provide cybercriminals essential services to aid them in attacking businesses in the United States and in allied countries,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

“Cyber criminals think that they can act in the shadows, targeting hard working British people and ruining livelihoods with impunity. But they are mistaken – together with our allies, we are exposing their dark networks and going after those responsible,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper added.

Via BleepingComputer

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.