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On Wednesday, June 26, a $10 million reward was offered by the FBI, which is looking to arrest 22-year-old Amin Timovich Stigal, who is among the agency's most wanted.
According to the feds, Stigal is wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal cyber activities between August of 2021 and February of 2022, during which he conspired to commit computer intrusions targeting Ukrainian critical infrastructure.
“Amin Timovich Stigal attempted to leverage malware to aid the Russian military in the invasion of Ukraine,” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said.
“Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to combat malicious cyber activities by our adversaries, and we will continue to work with our international partners to thwart attempts to undermine and harm our allies.”
Investigators say that Stigal "conspired to gain unauthorized access to computers associated with the Ukrainian government, resulting in the destruction of those systems in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine."
It is further alleged that he conspired to enable cyber activity against the United States government and private sector infrastructure.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired with Russian military intelligence on the eve of Russia’s unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to launch cyberattacks targeting the Ukrainian government and later targeting its allies, including the United States.” Attorney General Merrick Garland stated.
“The Justice Department will continue to stand with Ukraine on every front in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression, including by holding accountable those who support Russia’s malicious cyber activity.”
The federal indictment released on Wednesday out of District Court in Greenbelt charged Stigal with a computer hacking conspiracy intended to deploy destructive malware and take other disruptive actions.
Specifically, he was charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and damage.
“Malicious cyber actors who attack our allies should know that we will pursue them to the full extent of the law,” US. Attorney Erek Barron for the District of Maryland added.
“Cyber intrusion schemes such as the one alleged threaten our national security, and we will use all the technologies and investigative measures at our disposal to disrupt and track down these cybercriminals.”
Anyone with information regarding Stigal has been asked to contact federal investigators with their local FBI agency.
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