U.S. federal prosecutors have unsealed charges against three Russian nationals, accusing them of providing bulletproof hosting (BPH) services to ransomware gangs that caused over $62 million in damages to victims worldwide.
BPH providers lease servers that help hinder disruption efforts targeting their malicious activities, including malware delivery, command-and-control operations, phishing attacks, and illicit content hosting. They market themselves as "bulletproof" by ignoring victims' complaints and subsequent law enforcement takedown requests.
The two BPH services, Media Land and ML.Cloud, also provided customers with infrastructure in multiple countries outside Russia, including China, Finland, the Netherlands, as well as the United States.
According to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Aleksandr Volosovik (who used the alias "Yalishanda" on cybercriminal forums) owned Media Land, Yulia Pankova owned ML Cloud and assisted with legal and financial matters, and Kirill Zatolokin collected customer payments.
The U.S. Department of State is now also offering a reward of up to $10 million through its Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program for any information "on foreign government-linked associates of these actors, their malicious cyber activities, or foreign government-linked use of these companies."
Have information on these individuals or their associated companies?
Your assistance could lead to a reward and relocation.
Submit your tip today.https://t.co/bVD7q0dG3O pic.twitter.com/M9HMX9svej — Rewards for Justice (@RFJ_USA) July 14, 2026
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