Estonian national Pavel Stassi and Lithuanian national Aleksandr Skorodumov have been sentenced to 24 months and 48 months imprisonment, respectively, after entering a guilty plea to a count of RICO conspiracy each tied to their participation in offering "bulletproof hosting" to cybercriminals, reports CyberScoop.
Stassi and Skorodumov were a part of the Zeus malware hosting operation between 2009 and 2015, wherein over $100 million were exfiltrated. The U.S. Justice Department also noted that the same operation also hosted the Blackhole exploit kit, which had been used to cause even more losses.
Meanwhile, two other members of the organization who also pleaded guilty to the charges are poised to receive sentences of up to 20 years each.
"Cybercrime presents a serious and persistent threat to the United States, and these prosecutions send a clear message that 'bulletproof hosters' who purposely aid other cybercriminals are responsible, and will be held accountable, for the harms their criminal clients cause within our borders," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. of DOJ's Criminal Division said.