US and UK join Australia in hitting Russian man Aleksandr Ermakov with sanctions over Medibank data breach

The federal government has accused Aleksandr Ermakov of being involved in the Medibank hack. (Supplied: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

The United States and the United Kingdom have joined Australia in sanctioning Russian man Aleksandr Ermakov over what they say is his role in the Medibank Private data breach.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the US Treasury Department said the US stands with its allies to “disrupt” actors who block access to a victim’s personal data until a ransom is paid.

“Russian cyber actors continue to wage disruptive ransomware attacks against the United States and allied countries, targeting our businesses, including critical infrastructure, to steal sensitive data,” the statement said.

“Today’s trilateral action with Australia and the United Kingdom, the first such coordinated action, underscores our collective resolve to hold these criminals to account.”

It comes after the Australian government used its cyber sanctions framework for the first time on Tuesday, making it a criminal offence to provide Mr Ermakov with any assets, including cryptocurrency wallets or ransomware payments.

The offence is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Like Australia, the US said it identified Mr Ermakov as responsible for stealing the personal information of 9.7 million Medibank customers in 2022, including names, dates of birth, Medicare numbers and sensitive private health information.

After demanding ransom money, much of the data was published on the dark web.

“Russia continues to provide a safe haven to ransomware actors like Ermakov, enabling cyber actors to freely perpetrate ransomware attacks and other malicious cyber activities from Russia,” the US Treasury Department said.

“In addition, Russia has also enabled ransomware attacks by cultivating and co-opting criminal hackers. Treasury has previously stressed that Russia must take concrete steps to prevent cyber criminals from freely operating in its jurisdiction.”

Mr Ermakov is a 33-year-old Russian citizen who was born in Russia, according to sanction documents filed in the Federal Register of Legislation.

Both Australia and the US have described him as a “cybercriminal”.

The US Treasury Department said any assets related to Mr Ermakov that are in the US, or held by people in the US, would be blocked.

The US sanctions also prohibit offering any kind of financial help to Mr Ermakov, as well as receiving any kind of funds or services from him.