The Australian government has partnered with the U.S. and UK governments imposing sanctions on two Russian cybercrime service providers—Media Land LLC, and ML. Cloud LLC—and two key personnel–Aleksandr Alexandrovich Volosovik, and Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin.
According to an official government statement, the organisations had provided the basis of ransomware to cyber actors and cybercriminals, allowing them to conduct attacks on Australia and other countries.
“Media Land has helped enable criminals to conduct attacks against Australian financial institutions, Australian businesses, their customers, and critical international infrastructure,” a statement from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong read.
It is the fifth time the government has activated Australia’s autonomous cyber sanctions framework.
The sanctions mean it will be a criminal offence to provide assets to any of the sanctioned entities or individuals with penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or heavy fines.
The sanctions also ban the individuals from entering Australia.
“The Australian government is taking strong steps to strike back against malicious cyber activity,” he said.
“This latest cyber sanction builds on previous actions and demonstrates our relentless pursuit of those who seek to harm Australians.
“These sanctions don’t just impose costs on criminals, they dismantle the infrastructure that enables cybercrime. By disrupting these networks, we make it harder for others to launch attacks and it strengthens Australia’s resilience against future threats.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government would do everything possible to “alienate” individuals who pose a threat.
“This is one of the fastest growing threats our country faces and our government will ensure we are ready to face it,” he said.
The sanctions are the result of close collaboration between the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Signals Directorate, and international partners.
According to government data, Australians lose billions to cyber scams annually.
“A higher proportion of victims reported being negatively impacted by cybercrime in 2024, particularly for social and health related harms,” the organisation said.
Cybercrime is an umbrella term that can include identity theft, financial scams, computer viruses and ransomware, hacking, doxing, bullying, flooding websites to shut them down, intellectual property theft, predation, manipulation and espionage.
