Cybercriminals facing charges in Seattle District Court

Three high-ranking members of an Eastern Europe-based cybercrime group have been arrested and are facing charges filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

The three Ukrainians are members of a hacking group known by many names including FIN7, the Carbanak Group, and the Navigator Group. Each has been charged with 26 felony counts including computer hacking, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, access device fraud, and conspiracy.

“Cybercriminals who believe that they can hide in faraway countries and operate from behind keyboards without getting caught are just plain wrong,” U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes, with the Western District of Washington, said. “We will continue our longstanding work with partners around the world to ensure cybercriminals are identified and held to account for the harm that they do – both to our pocketbooks and our ability to rely on the cyber networks we use.”

Using a sophisticated malware campaign, the group successfully breached thousands of computer networks of more than 100 companies in 47 states and the District of Columbia since at least 2015. The majority of the companies were in the hospitality, restaurant, and gaming, industries.

More than 15 million customer card records from more than 3,600 separate business locations and more than 6,500 individual point-of-sale terminals were stolen.