Russian Arrested After Offering $1 Million to U.S. Company Employee for Planting Malware

Hackers always find a way in, even if there’s no software vulnerability to exploit.

The FBI has arrested a Russian national who recently traveled to the United States and offered $1 million in bribe to an employee of a targeted company for his help in installing malware into the company’s computer network manually.

Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27-year-old, entered the United States as a tourist and was arrested in Los Angeles after meeting with the unnamed employee of an undisclosed Nevada-based company numerous times, between August 1 to August 21, to discuss the conspiracy.

“On or about July 16, EGOR IGOREVICH KRIUCHKOV used his WhatsApp account to contact the employee of victim company and arranged to visit in person in the District of Nevada,” the court documents say.

“On or about July 28, EGOR IGOREVICH KRIUCHKOV entered the United States using his Russian Passport and a B1/B2 tourist visa.”

Kriuchkov also asked the employee to participate in developing tailored malware by sharing information about the company’s infrastructure.

According to court documents released by the US Justice Department, the malicious software Kriuchkov asked to install aims to extract data from the…