The U.S. Department of State and the Secret Service are offering a $2,500,000 reward for information leading to the case of Belarusian citizen Volodymyr Kadaria (Владимир Кадария) for cybercrime activities.
The 38-year-old man is wanted for his involvement in various malware and online fraud operations, including the Angler Exploit Kit, for which he led malvertising operations between October 2013 and March 2022.
“The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $2.5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Volodymyr Kadariya in any country for his suspected involvement in a significant malware organization,” said an announcement on the U.S. State Department website.
The hacker, known online by various aliases such as “Stalin,” “Eseb,” and “Baxus,” was first charged with wire and computer fraud in June 2023, but the indictment was not unsealed until August 12, 2024.
At that time, Kadariya was identified as one of the co-conspirators of Maksim Silnikau, who, together with Andrei Tarasov, was involved in global malware distribution operations.
Silnikau (aka “JP Morgan”), the creator and operator of Ransom Cartel, the Reveton ransomware and the Angler exploit kit, was arrested in Spain and later extradited to the United States, where he faces up to 100 years in prison on several charges.
Source: US Secret Service
The Angler Exploit Kit
The Angler Exploit Kit first appeared in 2013 and quickly gained notoriety due to its ability to exploit outdated software such as Adobe Flash, Java, Silverlight, and Internet Explorer to deliver malware to victims' systems.
One of the most common attack vectors for anglers was malvertising, which involved placing malicious ads on legitimate websites, which Kadariya was involved in.
Angler Exploit Kit activity began to decline in mid-2016, and by the end of the year the Exploit Kit was deemed to be no longer active, but its impact and effect on victims worldwide remains significant.
In addition to the Angler Exploit Kit, Kadariya also used “scareware” ads to deliver false messages to Internet users, tricking them into downloading malicious files to their computers or disclosing personal and financial information on phishing sites.
The Belarusian cybercriminal used numerous monetization channels, including selling “logs” of stolen data to other cybercriminals, selling direct access to systems compromised by the Angler Exploit Kit, and the ability to deliver custom payloads via the kit.
Kadariya's whereabouts are currently unknown and any information leading to his arrest or conviction may earn informants up to $2,500,000.
