Ukrainian hacker Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov, also known as Tank, Zevs, Father, and TopBro, has been sentenced by a Nebraska court to nine years imprisonment for his involvement in the IcedID and Zeus malware operations, the former of which had been dismantled following the Operation Endgame conducted by Europol in May, The Register reports.
Aside from the nine-year jail sentence and another three years of supervised release, Penchukov was also ordered by the U.S. government to provide over $54 million in restitution and nearly $20 million in forfeiture funds.
Such a development comes after Penchukov admitted guilt over his participation in malware attacks, when U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael Easley emphasized the significant risk brought upon by IcedID to U.S. critical infrastructure. "The Justice Department and FBI Cyber Squad won't stand by and watch it happen, and won't quit coming for the world's most wanted cybercriminals, no matter where they are in the world. This operation removed a key player from one of the world's most notorious cybercriminal rings," said Easley.
