US links Thanos and Jigsaw ransomware to 55-year-old doctor
The US Department of Justice today said that Moises Luis Zagala Gonzalez (Zagala), a 55-year-old cardiologist with French and Venezuelan citizenship residing in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, created and rented Jigsaw and Thanos ransomware to cybercriminals.
Zagala (aka Nosophoros, Aesculapius, and Nebuchadnezzar) also offered support to cybercriminals who bought the malware and shared profits earned after ransoming victims worldwide.
"As alleged, the multi-tasking doctor treated patients, created and named his cyber tool after death, profited from a global ransomware ecosystem in which he sold the tools for conducting ransomware attacks, trained the attackers about how to extort victims, and then boasted about successful attacks, including by malicious actors associated with the government of Iran," said US Attorney Breon Peace.
