Russian Accused of Hacking 100m People Data Extradited from Georgia to US
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, September 10
A Russian hacker, Andrey Tyurin, 35, was arrested in Georgia and extradited to New York on Friday after the request of the US authorities.
Tyurin is alleged to have performed key cyber-work in a hack of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and about a dozen other companies and the data of around 100 million people.
The US prosecutors announced the information on September 7. According to them, the scheme was led by Gery Shalon, an Israeli who is already facing charges over the hack in a US court in Manhattan along with two other Israelis, Joshua Samuel Aaron, and Ziv Orenstein.
The federals say Tyurin “engaged in an extensive computer hacking campaign targeting financial institutions, brokerage firms, and financial news publishers in the United States” on behalf of Shalon from 2012 to 2015.
“As Americans increasingly turn to online banking, theft of online personal information can cause devastating effects on their financial wellbeing, sometimes taking years to recover,” said US prosecutor Berman, calling Tyurin’s extradition a “significant milestone” in the fight against hacking.
The hacker faces ten counts, including conspiracy to commit computer hacking, aggravated identity theft, and wire and bank fraud. The latter carries a maximum prison term of 30 years. He faces several more charges and is accused of participating in the sprawling hacking enterprise.
Tyurin appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday afternoon, pleading not guilty to charges. He was detained in December 2017 by Georgian authorities while entering Tbilisi International Airport. His pre-extradition term was extended several times and it was about to expire on September 12.
Along with the US, the Russian Federation was also demanding Tyurin’s extradition to Moscow.
The US side alleges that the hacker, along with the others, has worked on dual tracks - profiting from criminal hacking, while also providing valuable information to their Russian minders.
It is believed that Tyurin’s criminal underground could make him useful in a wide range of investigations, including the hacking of the 2016 US presidential election.
