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US Politics

Cops in Germany Claim They've ID'd the Mysterious Trickbot Ransomware Kingpin

Wired
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Germany 's federal police agency, the Bundeskriminalamt or BKA , and local prosecutors alleged that Stern ’s real-world name is Vitaly Nikolaevich Kovalev , a 36-year-old , 5’11Russian man who cops believe is in his home country and thus shielded from potential extradition.

The German announcement is the first time that officials from any government have publicly alleged an identity for a suspect behind the online moniker “Stern”.

Kovalev ’s 2023 indictment was mainly noteworthy because his use of “ Bentley ” as a handle was determined to be “historic” and distinct from that of another key Trickbot member.

The Trickbot ransomware group first emerged around 2016 , after its members moved from the Dyre malware that was disrupted by Russian authorities.