Russian Cybersecurity Company Chief Arrested for Treason

The Russian authorities have arrested the CEO of the leading cybersecurity company Group IB on suspicion of treason. Chief executive Ilya Satsjkov has been held in custody for two months, a Moscow court said.

 

It is not yet clear what the charges entail. According to Group IB, offices in Moscow were searched by authorities on Tuesday. The company has not yet commented on Sachkov’s arrest. However, it did say that all services “continue as normal” and that client data is safe.

Group IB focuses on investigating major cybercrime cases and online fraud. The company is active worldwide and has customers in the banking, energy, and telecom sectors. The international police organization Interpol is also a customer of the Russian firm.

Several Russian scientists, military and government officials have been accused of treason in recent years, mostly for passing information abroad. Details of such cases rarely come out in full because, according to authorities, they contain classified information.

In Russia, treason is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. In 2019, Ruslan Stojanov, a former manager of Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Sergei Mikhailov, a former Russian secret service FSB employee, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The two are said to have regularly shared information about Russian hackers with American security guards.