Mystery JPMorgan Hacker is in the United States. What does he know?

The mysterious figure behind what prosecutors call the biggest financial hacking of all time is now in the custody of the United States.

Andrei Tyurin, a Russian citizen who allegedly carried out significant cyber-work in the framework of a piracy of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a dozen other companies, was extradited on Friday in New York. from the Republic of Georgia. This was the unlikely outcome of several years of research by the US authorities, who had closely followed a hacker who allegedly led to computer-related corporate fraud, including fraud, money laundering, credit cards and fake pharmaceuticals.

Three years ago, the federal authorities in New York exposed most of these details by describing a violation of the financial system that had created more than 80 million victims. Other target companies include Fidelity Investments, Dow Jones and Co., E * Trade Financial Corp. and Scottrade Financial Services Inc.

What previous forensic documents did not disclose is the identity of the central hacker – eventually revealed in an unsealed indictment on Friday under the name of Tyurin. Moments after the 35-year-old Tyurin plane landed at New York's Stewart International Airport at 1:44 pm, prosecutors described the extradition as "a milestone" in the fight against piracy.

Tyurin appeared in Manhattan federal court Friday afternoon in a white T-shirt, black pants and sneakers, pleading not guilty to conspiracy, computer hacking, identity theft and computer fraud. His lawyer, Florian Miedel, declined to comment.

While other people in the JPMorgan hacking case are cooperating with the authorities, Tyurin may have to decide whether to enter into an agreement or face prosecution, an unexpected turn for a suspect that few people would believe in the United States. could make it useful in a wide range of investigations, including hacking of the 2016 presidential election.

Two-way Hacks

In previous prosecutions, US authorities have alleged that Russian hackers have worked on two lanes – taking advantage of criminal hacking, while providing valuable information to their Russian guards.

In the JPMorgan case, US spy services suspected Russian intelligence agencies of trying to recruit Tyurin and had provided evidence of such efforts to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. The hacker also appears to have done extensive banking system reconnaissance and other activities that are not strictly related to Shalon's purchasing system.

This activity and other clues have led some JPMorgan security officers to fear that the hacker will also provide information about the company's vulnerabilities to the Russian intelligence services. The FBI concluded that it was a strictly criminal enterprise, the person said.

In the United States and Russia, Tyurin was wanted for extradition, according to Nino Kvatadze, spokesman for the Georgian prosecutor's office. The case was brought to a Georgian court, she said.

Tyurin was arrested in December by Georgian authorities while he was entering the Tbilisi International Airport, police said. He did not know that he was a wanted man. According to his client's instructions, Tyurin's lawyer, Pavle Abaidze, also declined to comment.

He is one of the Russian hackers sought by the United States over Russia's objections. This week, the Supreme Court of Greece heard arguments on the extradition of Alexander Vinnik, a Russian accused of cybercrime in the United States, France and Russia. Vinnik reportedly oversaw a bitcoin swap used by Russian government hackers accused of stealing Democratic emails.

Scheme's Mastermind

In the eyes of financial companies, Tyurin allegedly worked with Gery Shalon, an Israeli accused by the United States of America for organizing the project. From 2012 to 2015, according to prosecutors, Tyurin confiscated personal information from more than 100 million corporate customers by infiltrating corporate computer networks, locating client databases, and exporting profile information to computers. foreigners.

According to prosecutors, information from hackers has been used in inventory manipulation, Internet gambling, credit card fraud, and bitcoin money laundering, which would have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. unlawful.

Shalon was arrested in Israel in 2015 and sent to the United States the following year. Several other people in the case either pleaded guilty or were sentenced after the trial. More than two years later, US authorities have not tried Shalon in this case, saying he could cooperate with US authorities.