RFE
11 Jul 2020, 14:45 GMT+10
A jury in San Francisco has convicted Russian citizen Yevgeny Nikulin over a series of hacks and cyberthefts eight years ago that targeted major U.S. social-media companies such as LinkedIn and Dropbox.
The District Court for the Northern District of California said on July 10 that Nikulin's sentence would be pronounced on September 29.
His lawyer vowed to appeal the verdict, which he called a "huge injustice."
Arkady Bukh said a psychiatric examination ordered by the judge had found that his 32-year-old client had mental problems.
Nikulin faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of selling stolen usernames and passwords, installing malware on protected computers, as well as up to five years for each count of conspiracy and computer hacking.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Nikulin in 2012 stole the usernames and passwords used by tens of millions of social-media users to access their accounts. Some of that data was put up for sale on a notorious Russian hacker forum.
Nikulin was detained in the Czech Republic in October 2016, and his extradition to the United States 17 months later angered Russia.
His trial started in California in early March but was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic a week later, when nearly all in-person court hearings were postponed across the United States.
Nikulin was targeted by U.S. law enforcement as part of a multiyear campaign to arrest some of the most notorious Russian hackers and suspected cybercriminals.
More than a dozen have been arrested in various countries, with Moscow accusing Washington of "hunting" Russian citizens.
Based on reporting by Bloomberg and TASS
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Get a daily dose of Illinois Intelligencer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Illinois Intelligencer.
More InformationThrough Surf City, El Salvador has demonstrated how a sport can serve as the engine of economic growth and social transformation. Today,...
BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- As the conflict between Israel and Iran entered its second week, the two sides exchanged a new round of...
New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): Congress leader and General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Surjewala, on Saturday hit...
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 21 (ANI): Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that he politely declined an invitation...
Taipei [Taiwan], June 21 (ANI): Taiwan's Minister of National Defence (MND) has detected 40 Chinese military aircraft, six naval vessels...
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 21 (ANI): Karnataka Minister for Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology Priyank...
ZURICH, Switzerland: The U.S. saw an extraordinary rise in wealth last year, with more than 1,000 people crossing into millionaire...
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The city that prides itself on being a beacon of peace and justice—home to institutions like the International...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: Since taking office in December 2023, Argentine President Javier Milei has implemented sweeping austerity...
LEMBATA, Indonesia: Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted dramatically on June 18, generating substantial ash and smoke plumes....
MADRID, Spain: A routine oversight by Spain's power grid operator, REE, has been identified as the trigger behind the large-scale blackout...
WASHINGTON, DC - In a bid to defuse speculation, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will make his decision on whether to have the...