Image copyright FBI Image caption Evgeniy Bogachev was believed to be living in Russia, the FBI said 
 
 The US has offered a $3m (£1.94m) reward for information on a Russian hacker, the highest the US authorities have ever offered in a cybercrime case. 
 
 Evgeniy Bogachev was charged last year in the US with being behind a major cybercrime operation that allegedly stole more than $100m (£64.7m). 
 
 He was last seen in Russia, where he is believed to remain at large. 
 
 Arresting him may be difficult, as the US does not have an extradition treaty with Russia. 
 
 Mr Bogachev, also known as "lucky12345" and "slavik", is accused of running the GameOver Zeus attack network, thought to have infected more than one million computers. 
 
 Victims were tricked into downloading malware - malicious software - which then searched specifically for financial information. 
 
 '60 cyber-threats' 
 
 Evgeniy Bogachev was charged last year on counts including conspiracy, wire, bank and computer fraud, and money laundering, after the FBI said it broke up the network. 
 
 He is one of the FBI's most wanted cyber-criminals. 
 
 "This reward offer reaffirms the commitment of the US government to bring those who participate in organized crime to justice, whether they hide online or overseas," the US State Department said. 
 
 The reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Mr Bogachev. 
 
 The head of the FBI's cyber crime division, Joseph Demarest, said Russia's internal security agency had expressed an interest in working with the US on cybercrimes, according to Reuters, but did not link it to the Bogachev case. 
 
 He also said the agency was aware of 60 different cyber-threat groups linked to nation-states, but gave no further details. ||||| Bogachev was last known to reside in Anapa, Russia. He is known to enjoy boating and may travel to locations along the Black Sea in his boat. He also owns property in Krasnodar, Russia. 
 
 Caution: 
 
 Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, using the online monikers “lucky12345” and “slavik”, is wanted for his alleged involvement in a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and scheme that installed, without authorization, malicious software known as “Zeus” on victims’ computers. The software was used to capture bank account numbers, passwords, personal identification numbers, and other information necessary to log into online banking accounts. While Bogachev knowingly acted in a role as an administrator, others involved in the scheme conspired to distribute spam and phishing emails, which contained links to compromised web sites. Victims who visited these web sites were infected with the malware, which Bogachev and others utilized to steal money from the victims’ bank accounts. This online account takeover fraud has been investigated by the FBI since the summer of 2009. 
 
 Starting in September of 2011, the FBI began investigating a modified version of the Zeus Trojan, known as GameOver Zeus (GOZ). It is believed GOZ is responsible for more than one million computer infections, resulting in financial losses of more than $100 million. 
 
 On August 22, 2012, Bogachev was indicted under the nickname “lucky12345” by a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska on charges of Conspiracy to Participate in Racketeering Activity; Bank Fraud; Conspiracy to Violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Conspiracy to Violate the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act; and Aggravated Identity Theft. On May 19, 2014, Bogachev was indicted in his true name by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania on charges of Conspiracy; Computer Fraud; Wire Fraud; Bank Fraud; and Money Laundering. On May 30, 2014, a criminal complaint was issued in the District of Nebraska that ties the previously indicted nickname of "lucky12345" to Bogachev and charges him with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. ||||| Good afternoon, thank you all for joining us. 
 
 Today, we are announcing a reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Evgeniy Bogachev, an alleged leader of a tightly knit gang of cyber criminals based in Russia and Ukraine who were responsible for the development and operation of both the Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker malware. 
 
 Gameover Zeus was one of the most sophisticated and damaging botnets ever encountered, infecting between 500,000 and one million computers worldwide, and causing more than $100 million in financial losses to businesses and consumers in the United States alone. 
 
 On top of that, the Cryptolocker ransomware infected more than 250,000 computers worldwide, and targeted companies big and small, as well as individuals. 
 
 In May and June 2014, we were able to wrest control of the Gameover Zeus botnet from the criminals and take Cryptolocker offline. This was thanks to an unprecedented action orchestrated by law enforcement and private sector partners in 10 different countries. 
 
 Today, due to the work of the FBI and its partners, Gameover Zeus has been neutralized and is out of the criminals’ hands and Cryptolocker remains non-operational. 
 
 But one significant part of the puzzle remains incomplete, as Bogachev remains at large. Although we were able to significantly disrupt the Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker criminal enterprise, we have not yet brought Bogachev himself to justice. 
 
 We must not allow international borders to shield criminals from the law. As more nations join the fight against international cybercrime, the number of countries once perceived as sanctuaries is shrinking, and will continue to shrink. 
 
 In the case of Bogachev, the same international coalition that brought down his botnet is now chasing him. 
 
 We appreciate the State Department shining the light on this important case again today. This reward will reinvigorate the efforts to find Bogachev and encourage others to join the hunt. 
 
 I am confident that Bogachev will one day be caught and brought to face justice in the United States.
– Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, once described by a cybersecurity expert as the "most prolific bank robber in the world," ended up on a different list altogether in December: as one of the individuals noted in then-President Obama's sanctions against Russia for trying to influence the election. As Garrett M. Graff explains in his Wired piece, Bogachev is an FBI "most wanted" poster boy who developed a malware "masterpiece" under the screen name "Slavik," known for pulling off extensive financial transgressions around the globe. Now, however, Bogachev has become known as his homeland's "most notorious hacker," and he's still on the loose, despite the US government's multi-year battle to flush him out and haul him in. Graff's article details how Bogachev was constantly able to elude authorities where others couldn't, from the early days of the malware and ransomware projects he ran to the present. It also reveals the FBI's unceasing efforts to take down the botnet-driven schemes, a probe that eventually uncovered Slavik's real identity (Bogachev) and that he'd moved on from banks to government "espionage commands." The FBI finally launched Bogachev's day of reckoning: May 30, 2014, when the feds would take down his whole operation. It was an "amazing" day of "cyber-hand-to-hand combat," one witness, a Pittsburgh US attorney, says of the attack, which was a success. Bogachev, however—named on Obama's sanctions list not for election hacking (the US government doesn't think he was) but to pressure Russia to turn him over in "good faith"—may never be caught. "Bogachev and other Russian cybercriminals lie pretty far beyond America's reach," Graff laments. More on this thrilling cybercrime story at Wired. (A Hollywood hospital paid a computer ransom to hackers.)