Man charged in Switzerland over alleged multi-million cybercrime in Scotland
A 51-year-old has been indicted for alleged cybercrime for a total of 10 ransomware attacks between December 2018 and May 2020.
Such attacks see hackers access data, encrypt it, and demand a ransom to decrypt it again.
The man, a Ukrainian living in Switzerland, is alleged to have been part of an international criminal ring which attacked companies in Switzerland, France, Norway, Scotland, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States.
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Some of the companies paid a ransom in Bitcoin to retrieve their data, with the largest single amount being 41 million Swiss Francs (£38m).
The total damage caused is believed to be around 130m Francs (£121m), with a total of 12 people arrested in connection.
The man has been indicted by the Zurich public prosecutor's office and will be tried for extortion, various computer crimes, money laundering, pornography and other crimes.
Prosecutors are asking for a 12-year sentence and for him to expelled from Switzerland.
The date of the trial before the Zurich District Court has not yet been set.
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