US Sanctions First VPN in Crackdown on Ransomware Criminals
The US Department of the Treasury this week sanctioned First VPN Service, saying it enabled cybercriminals to launch ransomware attacks against American...
Key points
- The US Department of the Treasury this week sanctioned First VPN Service, saying it enabled cybercriminals to launch ransomware attacks against American companies and institutions.
- The Office of Foreign Assets Control, an intelligence and enforcement agency within the Department of the Treasury, also levied sanctions on First VPN administrator Dmytro Rashevskyi and Yegeniy Vladimirovich Silayev for selling tools used to disguise ransomware and other malware.
- Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, said that First VPN was well publicized on Russian-language cybercrime forums as a service offering anonymous payments, hidden infrastructure and services "designed specifically for criminal use." The agency also said the VPN service helped cybercriminals hide their identities while carrying out ransomware attacks and data theft, and that it appeared "in almost every major cybercrime investigation supported by Europol in recent years." Representatives for the Department of the Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Read more: Best VPNs for 2026 Under the sanctions enacted this week, the Department of the Treasury will prohibit all transactions by people in the US involving property owned by Rashevskyi or Silayev.
What happened
The US Department of the Treasury this week sanctioned First VPN Service, saying it enabled cybercriminals to launch ransomware attacks against American companies and institutions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, an intelligence and enforcement agency within the Department of the Treasury, also levied sanctions on First VPN administrator Dmytro Rashevskyi and Yegeniy Vladimirovich Silayev for selling tools used to disguise ransomware and other malware. Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, said that First VPN was well publicized on Russian-language cybercrime forums as a service offering anonymous payments, hidden infrastructure and services "designed specifically for criminal use." The agency also said the VPN service helped cybercriminals hide their identities while carrying out ransomware attacks and data theft, and that it appeared "in almost every major cybercrime investigation supported by Europol in recent years." Representatives for the Department of the Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more: Best VPNs for 2026 Under the sanctions enacted this week, the Department of the Treasury will prohibit all transactions by people in the...