US offers $1 million for details on alleged Russian hacker

The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced it is offering a $1 million reward for information on a Russian hacker responsible for “multiple significant” computer intrusions against American targets.

The agency is offering the money through its Rewards for Justice program for information on the whereabouts of Tim Vakhaevich Stigal, who was charged by the Justice Department in January with participating in four different conspiracies to traffic in stolen payment card information belonging to the customers of at least three separate corporate victims between 2014 and 2016.

Stigal was charged with four counts of wire fraud conspiracy, 12 counts of wire fraud, one count of computer fraud extortion, three counts of access device fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

His malicious cyberactivity landed him on the U.S. Secret Service’s Most Wanted Fugitive page.

The reward announcement comes the day after the U.S.government cracked down on a Russian-linked influence network that pumped out disinformation to the American public ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

For its part, the State Department said it would go after the operations of Rossiya Segodnya, the parent company of state broadcaster Russia Today, and put in place a new visa restriction policy for the firm’s subsidiaries. 

The department also announced a $10 million reward for information on individuals involved in the RT-linked Russian hacking group RaHDit.