Admins of “Bulletproof” Hosting Admit Guilt

Four Eastern European nationals face up to 20 years in prison under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Two Russian citizens, along with citizens of Lithuania and Estonia, have pleaded guilty to administering a “bulletproof” hosting service that was used for criminal operations targeting American organizations.

The hosting service, whose name has not been disclosed, was founded by Russian nationals Alexander Grichishkin and Andrey Skvortsov. They later hired Lithuanian Alexander Skorodumov as a system administrator and Estonian Pavel Stassi as a manager. Grichishkin and Skvortsov handled marketing, personnel management, and customer support, while Skorodumov and Stassi maintained the systems and assisted clients—primarily operators of botnets and malware.

Infrastructure for Cybercriminals

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the hosting service provided cybercriminals with the infrastructure needed to conduct malicious campaigns from 2008 to 2015.

“The group leased IP addresses, servers, and domains to their cybercriminal clients, who then used this infrastructure to host malware necessary to access victims’ computers, build botnets, and steal banking credentials for subsequent fraud,” the DOJ statement reads. “Malware hosted by this company included Zeus, SpyEye, Citadel, and Blackhole Exploit Kit, which from 2009 to 2015 continuously targeted American companies and financial institutions, causing or attempting to cause losses amounting to millions of dollars.”

The hosting service also offered clients additional services, such as registering new infrastructure using fake or stolen personal data. This allowed hackers to bypass law enforcement blocks and carry out attacks while avoiding detection.

Global Cybercrime Network

“For years, the defendants facilitated transnational criminal activity and worked with an extensive network of cybercriminals worldwide, providing them with an anonymous haven for their illegal operations. This resulted in millions of dollars in losses for victims in the United States,” said FBI Special Agent Timothy Waters.

Sentencing for Stassi, Skorodumov, Grichishkin, and Skvortsov is scheduled for June 3, June 29, July 8, and September 16 of this year. Each of the four defendants faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.