A Ukrainian national has been charged for ransomware attacks which brought down the computer networks of hundreds of New Zealand companies.
Yaroslav Vasinskyi, 22, holds ties to a Russia-based ransomware group, and is allegedly responsible for the attacks on software company Kaseya in July 2021.
Kaseya provides technology management software for businesses and is commonly used throughout New Zealand.
The global ransomware hit took out the computer systems of many educators, including St Peter's School in Cambridge.
During the attack, the Ministry of Education said it was aware of 11 schools which had been effected.
Technology company Datacom also said it was aware of 200 business that had been attacked, and their files encrypted.
Vasinskyi is facing trial in the US, with the Department Of Justice alleging he was responsible for deploying malicious code throughout Kaseya’s system.
The code would encrypt the data on the victim’s computers and hold it to ransom which could only been paid through a “virtual currency address”.
If they did not pay the fee, Vasinskyi allegedly would post the data online, or claim it had been sold to a third party.
Vasinskyi is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of all counts, he faces a total penalty of 115 years in prison.
He was arrested in Poland, but has since been extradited to Dallas, Texas, where he will likely face trial.
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