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US, UK, Australia impose sanctions against Russian Alexander Ermakov — US Treasury

The US Treasury noted that this trilateral cooperation is "the first such coordinated action" and underscores "the collective resolve to hold these criminals to account"

WASHINGTON, January 23. /TASS/. The United States, together with the United Kingdom and Australia, imposed sanctions against Russian Alexander Ermakov, allegedly responsible for hacking the databases of the largest Australian health insurance company Medibank, the US Treasury Department announced.

"Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with Australia and the United Kingdom, designated Alexander Ermakov, a cyber actor who played a pivotal in the 2022 ransomware attack against Medibank Private Limited, an Australian healthcare insurer," the statement says.

The US Treasury noted that this trilateral cooperation is "the first such coordinated action" and underscores "the collective resolve to hold these criminals to account."

"All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt," the statement says.

On October 14, 2022, it became known about a cyber attack on Medibank’s servers known, but then the insurer hid information that hackers managed to steal the personal data of people insured by the company, as well as a significant part of confidential medical information. Later, those who took possession of the personal data of Medibank clients demanded a ransom, and the company had to confirm the fact of data theft, and also admit that as a result of the hacker attack, the damage from which is estimated at $20 million, 9.7 million clients were affected.

The Australian Federal Police blamed hackers from Russia for the cyber attack and said they "know the names of those responsible for the hack."

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