×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Thursday
11
Dec 2025
weather symbol
Athens 12°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

How Russia’s war in Ukraine helped the FBI crack one of the biggest cybercrime cases in years

Investigators nabbed a key figure behind malware program Raccoon Infostealer in the Netherlands after he fled the fighting in Ukraine

Newsroom November 2 08:00

Three weeks after Russia started dropping bombs on Ukraine in late February, a talented young computer programmer named Mark Sokolovsky climbed into a Porsche Cayenne with his girlfriend to get away from the fighting.

The pair made their way through Poland and then Germany before stopping in the Netherlands, where they thought they were safe. Little did they know that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigators in Europe had been watching them all along.

Sokolovsky, 26, had been named late last year in a sealed criminal indictment in federal court in Texas that alleged he was a key figure behind a pervasive type of malware known as Raccoon Infostealer that prosecutors say has infected millions of computers around the world, stealing financial login credentials and money from an untold number of victims.

See Also:

SpaceX successfully launches Falcon Heavy for the fourth time ever

>Related articles

Austria: Ban on Islamic headscarves in schools for girls under 14 becomes law

Death-row inmate executed in the US: He had been convicted of raping and murdering a woman 40 years ago

Behind the scenes of Pierrakakis’ election to the Eurogroup: The “promises” and alliances before the vote that led to Van Peteghem’s withdrawal

Days after Sokolovsky crossed into the country, Dutch police arrested him in Amsterdam on charges of computer fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft. He faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted and remains in custody in the Netherlands while fighting an extradition proceeding that would send him to the U.S.

Messages left with Niels Van Schaik, the Dutch attorney representing Sokolovsky in his extradition proceeding, weren’t immediately returned.

Read more: Market Watch

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#crime#cybercrime#FBI#russia#ukraine#usa#world
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Pierrakakis also assumes the presidency of the ESM for the next 2.5 years

December 11, 2025

Austria: Ban on Islamic headscarves in schools for girls under 14 becomes law

December 11, 2025

Death-row inmate executed in the US: He had been convicted of raping and murdering a woman 40 years ago

December 11, 2025

International Mountain Day: Their protection is strengthened through ministerial decisions of the Ministry of Environment and Energy

December 11, 2025

Behind the scenes of Pierrakakis’ election to the Eurogroup: The “promises” and alliances before the vote that led to Van Peteghem’s withdrawal

December 11, 2025

Larnaca named European Capital of Culture for 2030

December 11, 2025

Christos Nikolopoulos: “Paschalis Terzis sang a new song for me — we will hear it soon”

December 11, 2025

Mitsotakis: A day of pride for Greece, the government, and all citizens with the election of Pierrakakis

December 11, 2025
All News

> World

Austria: Ban on Islamic headscarves in schools for girls under 14 becomes law

The law was approved by a large majority in Austria’s parliament, with the exception of the Greens, who deemed the measure unconstitutional — According to the government, about 12,000 girls and teenagers are affected by the new law

December 11, 2025

Death-row inmate executed in the US: He had been convicted of raping and murdering a woman 40 years ago

December 11, 2025

Axios: Trump plans to appoint an American general to lead the security force in Gaza

December 11, 2025

Ukraine delivers its response to the US peace proposal for war with Russia

December 11, 2025

The Kremlin says the country is open to foreign investment after a report on major US projects

December 11, 2025
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2025 Πρώτο Θέμα