Karim Baratov, Canadian Charged with Yahoo Hack, Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Canadian Karim Baratov, the criminal hired by the Russian Federal Security Service, pled guilty to cyber-crime charges in 2017. He is sentenced to served 5 years in prison and must pay a $250,000 fine. However, according to Alex Tse, the acting US Attorney, the severity of Baratov’s sentence is meant to send a message. That message is that hacking is a serious offense, and hackers-for-hire will be punished accordingly. 

The US Attorney’s Take 

Tse made a statement regarding the sentence: “Hackers such as Baratov ply their trade without regard for the criminal objectives of the people who hire and pay them. These hackers are not minor players; they are a critical tool used by criminals to obtain and exploit personal information illegally. In sentencing Baratov to five years in prison, the Court sent a clear message to hackers that participating in cyber attacks sponsored by nation states will result in significant consequences.” 

Russian hacking attempts like this are a sore subject for the US at the moment. The United States Senate and House of Representatives have drawn contradictory conclusions regarding Russian hacking influence in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Where the House sees no involvement, a Senate committee found “irrevocable” evidence that Russian nationals were involved in the campaign in various capacities. 

Baratov’s Yahoo Hack 

Baratov, for his part, had a large impact with his hacking mission. Baratov, as well as three Russian nationals, illegally access Yahoo’s user database. According to the FBI, Baratov also accessed an online tool called the Account Management Tool. Between the user database and the aforementioned account tool, Baratov and his co-conspirators were able to “locate and target accounts of interest.” According to the FBI, this breach affected more than 500 million accounts.  

This Yahoo hack follows a disturbing trend of recent data breaches and hacks. Between Target’s database leak, the PlayStation Network hack, and Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, internet privacy is under scrutiny now. In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is now in effect. The GDPR regulates what companies with EU customers can do with data. The United States will surely be implementing steps like this soon.