Russian Man Extradited Over Malware Campaign Targeting Freelancers

**Executive summary:** The US Department of Justice has indicted and extradited Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev for allegedly orchestrating a 2016–2017 malware campaign that used roughly 255 fake accounts on a freelance platform to send malicious Microsoft Excel attachments; when opened, macros installed RATs (a TVRAT/TeamSpy variant exploiting TeamViewer and DarkVNC) which exfiltrated credentials and PII to C2 servers (paid with virtual currency), impacting thousands of victims—many in the Northern District of California—and leading to charges including conspiracy, computer damage, unauthorized access, and aggravated identity theft.