Accessibility links

Breaking News

U.S. Charges Three Over Gozi Computer Virus


U.S. federal prosecutors have charged a Russian national and his associates from Latvia and Romania with creating and distributing a computer virus they described as "one of the most financially destructive in history."

The indictments unsealed on January 23 in a New York court charge Russian Nikita Kuzmin, the alleged creator of the Gozi virus, with six counts of computer intrusion and fraud charges.

He faces up to 97 1/2 years in prison.

Latvian Deniss Calovskis allegedly wrote some of the virus's computer code and Romanian Mihai Ionut Paunescu allegedly ran a hosting service that distributed it.

U.S. prosecutors said Gozi infected more than a million computers around the world, including some operated by NASA and banks.

Stolen banking credentials caused "tens of millions of dollars in losses."

With reporting by Reuters and AP

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG