As of this week, hackers and cybercriminals have their own specific category on the FBI’s most wanted list, and information leading to an arrest could come with a bounty of up to $100,000.
This expansion of the decades old most wanted list to include a section on cybercriminals is a reflection of the increased importance that the FBI is placing on apprehending hackers. This comes only a few days after British hacker Lauri Love was arrested for allegedly stealing immense amount of data on US military personnel.
Currently leading the list of the FBI’s most wanted Cybercriminals is 26 year old Alexsey Belan, a Latvian hacker accused of computer intrusion, aggravated identity theft, and fraud in connection with a computer. Anyone who provides information which leads to Belan’s arrest could collect a bounty of up to $100,000 for their assistance. Nine other men, hailing from Pakistan, Russia, India, Sweden, El Salvador and Syria, have similar rewards being offered for a multitude of computer-related crimes.