Hacker accused of Linkedin, Dropbox and Formspring breaches indicted by FBI

The Russian hacker arrested in Prague early this month is waiting to be extradited to the US for trial in federal court. When news of his arrest went public, the media accused him of potential involvement in the cyberattacks allegedly launched by the Russian government against the US.

However, no comment has been made on that. He was indicted by the FBI “for obtaining information from computers, causing damage to computers, trafficking in access devices, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy.”

29-year-old Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin is in the custody of Prague police and is allegedly behind the LinkedIn, Formspring and Dropbox data breaches of 2012. The Russian national, together with three accomplices, allegedly stole some 68 million user credentials from Dropbox, 117 million from LinkedIn and 420,000 hashed passwords were leaked from Formspring with intent to traffic stolen credentials. After allegedly infecting an employee”s computer with malware to steal the user”s credentials, it was not difficult for the man to break into the LinkedIn network, authorities say.

Once he allegedly carried out the cyberattacks, the man lived an extravagant life in Europe, purchasing expensive cars and living in luxury hotels. If found guilty, he faces 32 years in prison and more than $1million in fines.