CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Spanish Police officials announced the arrest of one of the alleged heads of a cybercriminal gang that uses the ransomware strain known as Reveton.  The apparent arrest of this alleged cybercriminal of Russian origin occurred in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Spanish police are working to extradite the suspect to Spain.

In addition, there were arrests of members of the same gang focused on obtaining funds abusing PaySafeCard / UKash vouchers. The Reveton gang apparently had a branch in Spain that exchanged these vouchers and converted them into actual money, which would then be transferred to the leaders of the gang in Russia. According to police this activity has netted the gang over one million Euros per year.  Additionally, the Reveton ransomware is still in circulation and being used by others.  As there is still an ongoing investigation, only certain information is available at this time.

These arrests are a tremendous result from the ongoing work and collaboration between the Spanish police and Trend Micro's eCrimes unit which works extensively and collaboratively with law enforcement authorities across the globe.

• This is the latest in a series of arrests and take-downs that Trend Micro has been involved with. Other recent collaborations included the Ghostclick/Rove Digital takedown, the "Soldier" SpyEye disruption, the LuckyCat APT campaign and the IXESHE APT campaign.
• Trend Micro's products currently protect against all known versions of Reveton.
• This illustrates that effective work to protect customers from malware like Reveton involves not just technological solutions but active partnerships and collaborations with law enforcement agencies and government agencies.
• More information can be found at: http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/key-figure-in-police-ransomware-activity-nabbed-2 and
  at: http://www.interior.gob.es/press/golpe-policial-a-una-de-las-mayores-redes-cibercriminales-especializada-en-infectar-millones-de-ordenadores-de-todo-el-mundo-14802

Supporting assets:
Reveton Ransomware Details
http://about-threats.trendmicro.com/Malware.aspx?language=au&name=TROJ_RANSOM.BNW

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