A man who goes by the handle Pornopoker has been arrested by Russian authorities for creating and distributing ransomware.

The suspect had been hiding out in Thailand but returned to the Soviet Union where he was immediately arrested. He had an accomplice who also has been arrested. Details of that arrest were not made available.

Pornopoker had created ransomware that displayed a ransom note accusing the victim of watching pornographic material and saying that the note came from Russian authorities, such as the police (MIA), secret service (FSB), or the Federal Bailiff Service. Paying the "fine" would also unlock the computer.

The arrest comes on the heels of another arrest by Europol of a massive cyber-crime operation started in 2012. In that case, ransomware named Ransomlock.P was being distributed that also showed fake messages pretending to be from the police (German police, in this case).

Apparently the police take a very dim view of cyber-criminals who pretend to be police officers.

Source: Bleeping Computer