The founder of Russian cybersecurity firm Group-IB was arrested for ” high treason “, as part of a search at the headquarters of his company in Moscow, Wednesday, September 28. Specialized in the detection and prevention of computer hacks, Group-IB is one of the leading companies in the sector. She is also a “Official partner of Interpol and Europol”, according to its website.
Its CEO and founder, Ilia Satchkov, 35, was remanded in custody until November 27 by decision of the Moscow court in Lefortovsky.
Justice gave no details on the charges against the entrepreneur. In the high treason prosecutions, which have increased in number in recent years, the Russian authorities are allowed to keep the procedural elements secret. According to a source quoted by the state agency TASS, Mr. Satchkov is accused of having “Damaged the reputation and national interests of Russia” and to have “Cooperated with intelligence services of foreign countries”. He does not admit his guilt, according to the same source.
“For years this Russian company has done some of the best research in the world on cybercriminal gangs”, written on twitter security researcher Mikko Hypponen, who works for competitor F-Secure, in a message of surprise at the arrest.
Decorated in 2019 by the Kremlin
The company Group-IB, founded in 2003, said in a press release “Convinced of innocence” by M. Satchkov. The firm assured “Operate normally” and announced that his co-founder, Dmitry Volkov, had taken over the management of the company.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, maintained that he had learned of Ilia Satchkov’s arrest from the press, and did not fear an impact on the Russian cybersecurity sector. In contrast, the Kremlin’s special representative to entrepreneurs, Boris Titov, said he was “Essential that the investigators explain themselves” on this arrest, “Given the importance and uniqueness of the figure of Sachkov for the whole sector [de la cybersécurité en Russie] “.
In February 2019, Mr. Satchkov was decorated by President Vladimir Putin for his “Innovative breakthrough” in the field of detection and prevention of cyber threats, according to the Kremlin website.
Russia is suspected by Western intelligence services to be behind a series of recent cyber attacks and destabilization operations, from hacks into German MPs’ mailboxes to the NotPetya cyberattack of June 2017. The country is also suspected of harboring cybercriminal networks, such as the REvil group, responsible for ransomware attacks such as those targeting a major meat company JBS, the pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline, but also local communities and hospitals.
Russia denies any role in these various attacks. In June, Vladimir Putin agreed to initiate bilateral consultations on cybersecurity with the President of the United States, Joe Biden. The arrest of Mr. Satchkov, whose company works with several Western countries, casts doubt on the Kremlin’s willingness to improve its cooperation on cybersecurity.
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