FBI, others crush REvil using ransomware gang's favorite tactic against it

[ShazzieB]

11. Putin's not directly involved, though.

The keyword being "directly."

The Russian government’s relationship with criminal hackers is different than that of other adversarial powers, like China or North Korea.

~snip~

China’s control of its hackers is similar to the kind of tight restrictions it places on society, business and its propaganda efforts.

But the Russian government has a different approach. Moscow allows oligarchs and criminal groups to follow their own plans, so long as they do not challenge the Kremlin and are generally working toward President Vladimir V. Putin’s goals, according to American government officials.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/us/politics/russia-ransomware-hackers.html