US Govt Seizes $1M From Russian BlackSuit Ransomware

The US Department of Justice has announced that it has seized more than $1 million from the Russian group behind the notorious ransomware BlackSuit and Royal. In a press release on Monday, the DoJ said that law enforcement seized servers, domains, and around $1 million in laundered proceeds behind BlackSuit and Royal ransomware creators.

US Justice Department conducted takedown of major Russian ransomware group

The US DoJ recently seized the servers and $1 million in cryptocurrency from the prolific Russian ransomware group behind the BlackSuit and Royal malware. US cyber authorities have now revealed that they seized four servers, nine domains, and other digital assets used to deploy ransomware, extorting victims and laundering proceeds.

Among the amount is cryptocurrency worth $1,091,453 at the time of the seizure. This is one of the major wins for the US Department of Justice against the Russian ransomware group. “Disrupting ransomware infrastructure is not only about taking down servers — it’s about dismantling the entire ecosystem that enables cybercriminals to operate with impunity,” said Deputy Assistant Director Michael Prado for HSI’s Cyber Crimes Center (C3).

As per the official statement, an alliance of major law enforcement agencies, including those from the US, Canada, Germany, Ireland, France, the UK, and others, conducted the seizure of the operations of the Russian ransomware group. On July 24, authorities commenced the takedown of the gang’s servers and domains.

BlackSuit ransomware actors have demanded over USD 500 million in total

As per a US cybersecurity agency CISA report last year, “BlackSuit actors have demanded over $500 million USD in total, and the largest individual ransom demand was $60 million.” Investigators believe a single Russian gang is behind the BlackSuit and Royal ransomware attacks, which have targeted critical infrastructure in the US and beyond.

So far, the Russian group actors have compromised more than 450 victims in the US alone. These include entities in the healthcare, education, public safety, energy, and government sectors. In total, these cybercriminals have received more than $370 million in ransom payments since 2022.

While the recently seized $1 million amount may not seem much, the seizure of such criminal proceeds is crucial in the fight against digital terrorism.