Russian man indicted for spreading malware to 80,000 freelancers

A Russian national accused of using fake accounts on a freelance employment platform to spread malware to approximately 80,000 users has been indicted by a federal grand jury in California. Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, 40, faces charges of conspiracy, transmission of malicious code, and aggravated identity theft, among other counts, the Department of Justice said. He was arrested in Cyprus in May 2025 and extradited to the US in August 2026.