Three Ukrainian men have been arrested for allegedly hacking more than 100 U.S. companies and stealing millions of customer records, U.S. officials say.
The Justice Department on August 1 alleged that the men are associated with the hacking group FIN7 and that they were arrested earlier this year in Europe.
The suspects, Fedir Hladyr, 33, Dmytro Fedorov, 44, and Andriy Kolpakov, 30, were arrested between January and June, said the Justice Department, which accused them of being members of a "sophisticated international cybercrime group" called FIN7.
It added that Hladyr was arrested in Dresden, Germany, and is being held in Seattle, Washington, ahead of trial.
Fedorov was arrested in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, while Kopakov is being detained in Spain, both pending extradition procedures initiated by the United States.
The FIN7 group has been linked to data breaches that hit, among others, Whole Foods, Chipotle, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor, according to cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.
It said Trump-branded hotels were also victims of hacks and data breaches by the group.
"Since at least 2015, FIN7 members engaged in a highly sophisticated malware campaign targeting more than 100 U.S. companies, predominantly in the restaurant, gaming, and hospitality industries," the State Department said.
"FIN7 hacked into thousands of computer systems and stole millions of customer credit- and debit-card numbers, which the group used or sold for profit," it added.
