Mark Sokolovsky, a Ukrainian national, has been sentenced to five years in prison for operating the notorious Raccoon Stealer malware operation. The cybercriminal, known by various online aliases including raccoon-stealer and Photix, ran a sophisticated malware-as-a-service (MaaS) business that charged other cybercriminals $75 weekly or $200 monthly for access to the malicious software.

The Raccoon Stealer malware was designed to harvest sensitive information from infected devices, including:
– Login credentials
– Cryptocurrency wallet data
– Credit card information
– Email contents
– Other personal data from various applications

Law enforcement authorities from the United States, Netherlands, and Italy collaborated to dismantle the malware’s infrastructure in March 2022, coinciding with Sokolovsky’s arrest in the Netherlands. Following his extradition to the United States in February 2024, he pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.

The impact of Raccoon Stealer was substantial, compromising over 52 million user credentials globally. As part of his sentence, Sokolovsky must pay restitution of at least $910,844.61. The FBI has established a website where potential victims can check if their information was compromised through the Raccoon Infostealer Disclosure portal.

Despite the original operation’s dismantling, newer versions of Raccoon Stealer have emerged with enhanced data theft capabilities, highlighting the persistent nature of this cyber threat.