Cybersecurity Firm Group-IB’s CEO Arrested Over Treason Charges in Russia

Russian authorities on Wednesday arrested^[1] and detained Ilya
Sachkov, the founder of cybersecurity firm Group-IB, for two
months in Moscow on charges of state treason following a search of
its office on September 28.

The Russian company, which is headquartered in Singapore,
confirmed the development but noted the “reason for the search was
not yet clear,” adding^[2]
“The decentralized infrastructure of Group-IB allows us to keep our
customer’s data safe, maintain business operations and work without
interruption across our offices in Russia and around the
world.”

Group IB said the raids at its Moscow office had commenced on
Tuesday, with law enforcement authorities leaving that same
evening. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the government was
aware of the arrest but that it had no additional details about the
case, Russian state news agency TASS reported^[3].

The cybersecurity company relocated^[4]
to Singapore in late 2018 as part of its attempts to distance
itself from any ties to the Russian government. It’s worth noting
that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security banned^[5]
Kaspersky products from all government departments on September 13
2017, alleging that the company had worked on secret projects with
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Group-IB is known for its assistance in a number of law
enforcement operations spanning Europe, often collaborating
agencies such as Europol and Interpol on investigations that have
led to the arrest of several organized cybercrime groups in recent
years, including Fraud Family^[6], Dr HeX^[7], and three Nigerian nationals^[8] suspected of
perpetrating business email compromise (BEC) scams.

If convicted of treason, Sachkov could be punishable by up to 20
years in prison.