U.S. prosecutors have charged three Russian nationals—Alexander Volosovik, Kirill Zatolokin, and Yulia Pankova of St. Petersburg—along with two web hosting companies, Media Land and ML.Cloud, with hacking, conspiracy, and money laundering. The indictment, first filed in 2024 and unsealed this week, accuses them of providing web hosting and infrastructure that enabled cyberattacks causing tens of millions of dollars in damages to U.S. businesses. The U.S. Treasury had previously sanctioned the firms for supporting ransomware groups including LockBit, BlackSuit, and Play.
Prosecutors say the companies operated as “bulletproof” hosts, deliberately shielding customers from law enforcement takedowns and demands. Hackers allegedly used the infrastructure to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks, phishing campaigns, and assaults on critical U.S. infrastructure. The activity targeted dozens of businesses across more than 20 states and generated roughly $62 million in cybercrime proceeds.
The suspects are considered unlikely to be arrested soon because they remain in Russia, where extradition to the United States is rare. Authorities note that high-value targets have occasionally been detained when traveling to countries with extradition agreements. Economic sanctions already prohibit Americans and U.S. businesses from dealing with the individuals or their companies.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated that the web hosts’ actions “put the American public at risk” and affirmed that officials will continue dismantling such networks to protect critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad.