Global effort dismantles Russian-led crime group

European and North American cybercrime investigators say they have dismantled the heart of a malware operation directed by Russian criminals after a global operation involving British, Canadian, Danish, Dutch, French, German and US police.

- By Lisa O'Carroll and Kate Connolly BERLIN

International arrest warrants have been issued for 20 suspects, most of them living in Russia, by European authorities, and indictments were unsealed in the US against 16 individuals.

Those charged include the alleged leaders of the Qakbot and Danabot malware operations, including Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov, 48, who lives in Moscow and Aleksandr Stepanov, 39, AKA JimmBee, and Artem Aleksandrovich Kalinkin, 34, AKA Onix, both of Novosibirsk, Russia, the US Department of Justice said.

Cyber-attacks aimed at destabilising governments or simple theft and blackmail are becoming increasingly pernicious.