Kazakhstan detains Russian cyber expert wanted by Washington

 

Authorities in Kazakhstan have detained a Russian cybersecurity expert wanted by the United States, his employer said on Wednesday (28 June), as authorities in Moscow issued a court order in an attempt to pre-empt his extradition.

Nikita Kislitsin, an employee of Russian cybersecurity firm F.A.C.C.T., was detained on 22 June and Kazakh authorities are considering Washington’s extradition request, the company said in a statement.

The United States has accused Kislitsin of buying personal data obtained through the 2012 hack of Formspring, a now-defunct social media site that allowed users to receive answers to questions.

Russia has protested the detention, calling on Kazakhstan not to carry out the US request.

A Russian diplomat in Kazakhstan, Consul-General Yevgeny Bobrov, was quoted in Russian media reports on 28 June as saying that the diplomatic mission had sent a note to the Kazakh foreign ministry, urging it not to move quickly on the extradition.

Bobrov’s note included requests to give full details of Kislitsin’s detainment, provide Russian diplomats access to Kislitsin, and not to extradite the Russian citizen to the United States in an expedited manner, TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies said.

Kazakh officials have not commented on the reports.

Russian court order seeks to pre-empt extradition

In the meantime, Russia filed its own extradition request after suddenly filing criminal case against Kislitsin. The Tver district court in Moscow said it issued an arrest warrant for Kislitsin in connection with an investigation into illegal access to computer data in Russia, adding that a legal request will be sent to Kazakhstan to extradite Kislitsin to Russia.

The case is the latest in a long series of court battles between Washington and Moscow for alleged Russian hackers detained at the request of the United States in third countries.

The United States has over the past decade successfully extradited dozens of Russian citizens charged with cybercrimes from third countries, especially Western nations, leading Moscow to accuse Washington of “hunting” Russians.

The extradition of Kislitsin could be tougher than other cases because of Russia’s close ties with — and influence over — neighboring Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic.

“If Kazakhstan wants to be prudent, it may delay the extradition” to see how things shake out in Russia, William Courtney, the former US ambassador to Kazakhstan from 1992-95 and an analyst at the Washington-based think tank Rand Corp, said, as quoted by RFE/RL. “Kazakhstan has to manage their risks.”

FBI interview

Kislitsin, a prominent member of the Russian cyber underground in the early 2010s, was interviewed by the FBI in Moscow nearly a decade ago as part of an investigation into the hack of several US-based companies, including LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring. He was later charged with buying personal data from the Formspring hack.

Investigators in the United States say Kislitsin and his associates stole personal data and passwords of 117 million people and offered them to potential buyers.

In his meeting with FBI agents, Kislitsin indicated that he was “open for collaboration” and wanted to “mitigate problems.”

Kislitsin’s current employer, F.A.C.C.T., confirmed on 28 June that he is under temporary detention in Kazakhstan at the request of the United States.

“According to the information available to us, the claims against Kislitsin are not related to his work at F.A.C.C.T., but are related to a case more than 10 years ago, when Nikita worked as a journalist and independent researcher,” the company said in a news release.

The company also disputed his detention in Kazakhstan, saying it believes there are there are no legal grounds for it.

The US State Department told RFE/RL in an e-mail that it does not comment on pending extradition matters, including whether or not a particular request has been made.

Yevgeny Nikulin, the mastermind of the hacks of the US companies and an acquaintance of Kislitsin, was extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic in 2018 and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He was released from jail earlier this year and deported back to Russia.

Prior to being charged by the United States, Kislitsin in 2013 joined Group-IB, one of the most prominent Russian cybersecurity firms.

Group-IB has gained international recognition over the years, signing an agreement with Interpol in 2017 to become an official private-sector partner of the international crime fighting organization.

In September 2021, Russia arrested Group-IB co-founder Ilya Sachkov, a well-respected cybersecurity expert, accusing him of treason.

Sachkov, who was a recipient of a Kremlin award two years earlier, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to transfer him to house arrest to no avail.

His case was finally turned over to a Moscow court earlier this month. A trial date has yet to be set. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Following sanctions imposed on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Group-IB spun off its Russia business to focus on international markets.

After the split, Kislitsin remained with the independent Russian business, which is now called F.A.C.C.T.

AH