Who Runs the Ransomware Group Qilin?
Source Krebs on Security
Description
Qilin is a Russia-based ransomware affiliate group active since September 2022, responsible for at least 365 victim organizations in three months. It operates a ransomware-as-a-service model with affiliates who deploy ransomware and practice double extortion by stealing data before encrypting systems. The group's administrator, known as 'Haise,' has been linked through operational security mistakes to a 36-year-old man in St. Petersburg, Russia, named Aleksey Mikhailovich Yakovtsev. Qilin collaborates with English-speaking affiliates and other ransomware groups. The administrator's past identities and activities have been traced through cybercrime forums and leaked data, revealing a progression from fraud to complex cybercrime operations.