WIFE: ARRESTED ALLEGED RUSSIAN HACKER 'LINKED TO TRUMP'S ELECTION WIN'

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55. This Russian Hacker's Wife Says He Was Arrested For Being "Linked To Trump's Win"

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/this-is-the-russian-hacker-detained-in-spain-for-helping?utm_term=.jcLzaPzG4e#.tb64Qm4N0K

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This Russian Hacker's Wife Says He Was Arrested For Being "Linked To Trump's Win"

Pyotr Levashov, known online as Peter Severa, was detained in Spain over the weekend. His wife says it’s because of his involvement with a “computer virus” linked to the election.
Originally posted on April 10, 2017, at 12:09 p.m.
Updated on April 10, 2017, at 4:02 p.m.


SAN FRANCISCO — For years Pyotr Levashov, aka Peter Severa, was known to authorities as one of the world’s most prolific spam kingpins.

Levashov, who lived in St. Petersburg, traveled freely under a lifestyle so lavish that one fellow Russian hacker told BuzzFeed News it “would have embarrassed an oligarch.” Last week, he was arrested in Barcelona while vacationing with his family under an international warrant at the request of the US.

Normally, the arrest of a spammer wouldn’t illicit international headlines, no matter how prolific. But over the weekend Levashov’s wife told the Russian state-owned broadcaster Russia Today that her husband’s arrest was due to his involvement in a “computer virus” that was “linked to Trump’s win.” Immediately, online forums were abuzz that one of the Fancy Bears — a group of Russian, government-linked hackers — had been caught.

Yet the arrest of Levashov, a well-known figure in cybercriminal circles, has less to do with the US government hunting down elusive members of the Russian government’s elite squad of hackers and more to do with authorities finally cracking down on the murky underworld of Russian cybercriminals who have aided Russia’s ever-growing cyberwar in pursuit of their geopolitical goals. For years, cybersecurity researchers and US authorities have tracked the murky ties between cybercriminals and the Russian state, including how malware first developed for criminal enterprises has made its way into state-sponsored cyberattacks on Russia’s neighbors. Over the last six months, US authorities have appeared to be stepping up their efforts to arrest the cybercriminals who work with the Russian state.

“We’ve reached a boiling point with Russia. They are the closest competitor to the US when it comes to cyberespionage and cyberattacks,” said Milan Patel, managing director at the K2 Intelligence cybersecurity firm and former chief technology officer of the FBI’s cyber division. “With Russia now, a lot is coming to the forefront and being made public about how they run their cyber activities.”.......................