Cybersecurity specialist Group-IB permanently leaves Russia

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Group-IB , a cybersecurity player headquartered in Singapore, has announced that it will no longer have a presence in the Russian market. This comes after Dmitry Volkov, co-founder and CEO, sold his stake in the Russia-based Group-IB to the company’s local management. The brand and trademarks of Group-IB are not allowed in Russia.

It does not clash between Group-IB and President Putin’s Russian state. In 2021, Ilya Sachkov, owner of cybersecurity specialist Group-IB, was arrested by Russian authorities. That was the start for the exodus of Group-IB from Russia, where repression is increasing day by day, especially after the invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine.

This process, according to the company, marks the completion of the second stage of the regional business diversification announced by Group-IB in July 2022, and includes changes in the ownership structure, separation of the business and technical units of Group-IB and the final withdrawal of the Group-IB brand from the Russian market.

Group-IB Global Private Ltd. (Singapore) currently manages the company’s assets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Processes launched to relocate employees and hire local talent mean that the development of Group-IB, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response, Digital Risk Protection, and other key teams are fully staffed and working hard to protect customers in these regions.

From april 20, 2023, Group-IB employees will no longer work in Russia. All research and development processes of Group-IB, along with the entire range of technologies and products of the company, will be withdrawn from Russia. The stand-alone Russian company has been sold to local management and will operate under the new FACCT Group-IB brand.

Group-IB’s own Unified Risk Platform and all relevant technologies to protect against targeted cyber attacks, data breaches, fraud, trademark infringement and phishing remain the property of Group-IB Global Private Ltd. As such, Group-IB Global Private Ltd. will have the exclusive right to use all of the company’s Technologies patented in Singapore, The Netherlands and the United States of America.

In accordance with the company’s zero tolerance policy towards Cybercrime, Group-IB regularly participates in anti-digital crime operations and shares intelligence data on cybercriminals ‘ infrastructure, methods and tools with global law enforcement.

Dmitry Volkov, CEO of Group-IB reports: “since we founded Group-IB, and constantly as we blazed our way to become an independent leader in the global cybersecurity market, we have never kept secret where we come from. We have been committed to fighting cybercrime since 2003. We have opened new research centers in different corners of the world and we have developed technologies that can prevent cybercrime before it occurs. When we arrive in a new region or country, we have only one goal: to make local governments, businesses and people feel safer in the digital space. From this moment, leaving the Russian market, the future of Group-IB is focused exclusively on non-Russian markets.”

According to the agreement , Dmitry Volkov , co-founder and CEO of Group-IB, is no longer a shareholder of the Russian company after the sale of his 10% stake in the Russian asset. At the same time , Ilya Sachkov , co-founder of Group-IB, sold his stake (37.5%) in Singapore-based Group-IB Global Private Ltd. to members of the company’s top management. The valuation of both transactions remains secret.

Group-IB is working to implement its long-term strategy to create a global, decentralized network of independent Digital Crime Resistance Centers (DCRC), each of which is equipped with the expertise to assess the local specifics and threat landscape of the region they are based in. Currently, Group-IB has three DCRCS – in Singapore, Dubai and Amsterdam. All customer data is processed in full compliance with international legislation by Group-IB in the company’s strategically located, globally distributed data centers.

DCRCS are staffed with experienced investigators tasked with investigating cybercrime, responding to incidents, monitoring local threats, and assessing regional trends to support the customer base and growing partner network. Group-IB Global Private Ltd. committed to this strategy, it plans to continue its expansion into the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets with the opening of Group-IB Digital Crime Resistance Centres in Thailand and Saudi Arabia in 2023 , and India in 2024.