In a move that has sent shockwaves through the cybersecurity world, Ilya Sachkov, the former founder and CEO of Group-IB, one of Russia’s most prominent cybersecurity firms, has been handed a 14-year prison sentence on charges of treason by the Russian government. This verdict comes after nearly two years of Sachkov’s detainment, during which the specifics of the charges against him were kept classified and out of public view.
This case adds Sachkov to the growing list of Russian cybercrime fighters who have been imprisoned under dubious treason convictions. Sachkov, who established Group-IB in 2003, led the company to become a formidable force in the cybersecurity landscape, known for unmasking and disrupting large-scale cybercrime operations.
Many of these operations were based in Russia, targeting Russian companies and citizens. The Kremlin issued treason charges against Sachkov in September 2021, but has remained tight-lipped about the details of the allegations. Despite pleading not guilty, Sachkov was convicted of treason after a three-week trial, which was conducted behind closed doors. The prosecutors had initially sought an 18-year sentence. Group-IB, which had relocated its headquarters to Singapore years prior, did not completely withdraw from the Russian market until April 2023.
The company has stated that during Sachkov’s detainment, he was denied any form of communication with the outside world for the initial months and was not allowed any visits from family or friends. The company’s statement further highlights the lack of transparency in Sachkov’s trial. It reads, “All the materials of the case are kept classified, and all hearings were held in complete secrecy with no public scrutiny. As a result, we might never know the pretext for his conviction.”
Before his arrest in 2021, Sachkov had been vocal in his criticism of the Kremlin for its apparent indifference towards the surge of ransomware attacks originating from Russia. He notably called out Maksim Yakubets, the alleged leader of a hacking group known as Evil Corp., accused by U.S. officials of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade. In December 2021, Bloomberg reported allegations that Sachkov had provided the United States with information about the Russian “Fancy Bear” operation, an advanced Russian cyber espionage group linked to the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, which allegedly sought to influence the 2016 U.S. election.
This case bears a striking resemblance to the 2019 conviction of Sergei Mikhailov, former deputy chief of Russia’s top anti-cybercrime unit, and Ruslan Stoyanov, a senior employee at Kaspersky Lab. Both were handed hefty prison sentences on alleged treason charges, the details of which were never disclosed. Media reports suggested that these individuals, along with two others arrested for treason, were suspected of providing American intelligence officials with information about Russian hacking activities tied to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
