FBI prosecutes mastermind cardiac surgeon who developed ransomware bearing the name of 'Thanos' and supported cyber criminals
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The U.S. Department of Justice turns Venezuelan-based 55-year-old cardiologist Moise Louis Zagara Gonzalez into a cybercriminal by creating ransomware such as 'Sanos' and 'Jigsou.' He announced that he had been charged with receiving money in return for lending.
Hacker and Ransomware Designer Charged for Use and Sale of Ransomware, and Profit Sharing Arrangements with Cybercriminals | USAO-EDNY | Department of Justice
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/hacker-and-ransomware-designer-charged-use-and-sale-ransomware-and-profit-sharing
FBI charges Venezuelan doctor with using, selling'Thanos' ransomware
https://www.cyberscoop.com/fbi-charges-venezuelan-doctor-with-using-selling-thanos-ransomware/
Gonzales creates and sells tools for conducting ransomware attacks while treating patients, training attackers on how to use ransomware, and attacking by malicious persons related to the Iranian government. He said he was saying a successful example of using the tool.
'Jigsaw' created by Gonzales deletes a certain amount of files from the victim's drive every hour until the ransom is paid, and each time it is reset, the number of files deleted at one time increases 'Doomsday Counter' The feature is that it is equipped with. This jigsaw has been less active since the fall of 2021, and decryption tools are already available at the time of writing the article.
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In addition, a ransomware called 'Thanos' developed by Gonzales is said to be on the market in Russian-speaking hacker forums. The point of Thanos is that you can customize the ransomware itself by using the builder that Gonzales offers for up to $ 800 a month (about 100,000 yen). Gonzales runs an affiliate program that receives a portion of the ransomware profits from cybercriminals, while also licensing Thanos using servers in the United States.
Gonzales' product was widely praised by 'customers', and in an online forum, 'Successfully infected Thanos on 3000 computers' 'Gonzales' customer support is excellent and the best I have ever met. It seems that it was highly evaluated.
In May 2022, law enforcement agencies found out that Gonzales was heavily involved in Thanos, with one of Gonzales' relatives as a collaborator. The collaborator also submitted to law enforcement the contact information for the mobile phone that Gonzales used to sell Thanos.
If convicted, Gonzales will be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and up to 5 years in prison for conspiracy to break into a computer.
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