Ilya Sachkov

Ilya Sachkov is a Russian cybersecurity expert and founder and CEO of Group-IB, a cybersecurity company specialising in the detection and prevention of cyberattacks. He received an award from Russian president Vladimir Putin for his work in 2019. In September 2021, he was detained by the Russian government's Federal Security Service on treason charges.

According to Bloomberg News, he is alleged to have provided the U.S. government with information about the Russian government's "Fancy Bear" operation that sought to influence the 2016 United States presidential election.

Views on Russian government handling of cybercrime

In a panel with Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin in attendance, Sachkov criticised the Russian government's response to ransomware attacks emanating from Russia, pointing to Maksim Yakubets as an example. Sachkov's criticism of the Russian government's apparent tolerance of some online criminals continued until late until his arrest by the FSB in September 2021. Russian businessman Boris Titov called for answers in a Facebook post, saying "It is necessary for investigators to explain themselves", otherwise it would deal a "critical blow" to the sector. In June 2023, the case was transferred to the Moscow City Court for consideration on the merits.

Group-IB co-founder Dmitry Volkov who took over as chief executive said the company did not know what Sachkov had been charged with and was convinced of his innocence. Volkov said that since all case materials are classified, it "provides fertile ground for rumours and speculations", saying that without access to those materials "making any assumptions or promoting any versions would be wrong." The sentence was a reduction from the state prosecutor's original request for an 18-year sentence and was delivered during an in camera session.