US Charges Operators of Russian “Bulletproof” Hosting Service

US prosecutors have unsealed charges against three Russian nationals suspected of running so-called bulletproof hosting (BPH) — infrastructure that is resistant to complaints and to takedown requests from law enforcement.

Investigators allege that the defendants' services were used by ransomware operators. Such services traditionally allow cybercriminal groups to host command-and-control servers, phishing pages and other malicious infrastructure without fear of a swift takedown.

The scale of the damage

Investigators put the total damage from activity tied to the defendants' hosting at more than $62 million. The victims are located around the world.

Background of the case

Bulletproof hosting is considered one of the key elements of modern cybercrime infrastructure: without takedown-resistant servers, it is harder for ransomware groups to mount attacks and retain control over compromised systems. Charging the operators of such services is not the first time US law enforcement has sought to undermine the infrastructural component of the ransomware ecosystem specifically, rather than just the attacking groups themselves.

The details of the charges brought, as well as what lies ahead for the defendants, have not been specified at this time.

Source: Bleeping Computer