Russian man indicted for spreading malware to 80,000 freelancers

September 2, 2026 · 9:06 am 5 sources

Image: BleepingComputer

Coverage

Coverage

• US charges Russian for infecting 80,000 freelancers with malware
  BleepingComputer · September 2, 2026 09:06
  A California federal grand jury has indicted a Russian national for his role in a phishing campaign that infected thousands of freelancers with TVRAT and DarkVNC malware. [...]
• Russian Man Extradited Over Malware Campaign Targeting Freelancers
  Infosecurity Magazine · September 2, 2026 15:00
  Russian man extradited to US over malware campaign that targeted 80,000 freelance users
• Russian national facing 20 years for malware campaign that infected 80,000 freelancers
  The Record by Recorded Future News · September 2, 2026 18:43
  Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev appeared in a San Francisco federal court on Monday after being arrested in Cyprus in May 2025 and extradited to the U.S. last week.
• Russian man indicted for spreading malware to 80,000 freelancers
  Help Net Security · September 3, 2026 10:43
  A Russian national accused of using fake accounts on a freelance employment platform to spread malware to approximately 80,000 users has been indicted by a federal grand jury in California. Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, 40, faces charges of conspiracy, transmission of malicious code, and…

More coverage

• Extradited Russian Hacker Faces Charges Over Excel Malware Campaign That Infected Thousands
  The Hacker News · September 2, 2026 09:10
  The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged a Russian national, extradited from Cyprus on August 28, with using roughly 255 fake accounts on a freelance platform to send malware-laced Excel attachments to about 80,000 of its users in 2016 and 2017. Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, 40, was…