US puts million-dollar bounty on Russian ransomware raiders

American law enforcement will pay a bounty of up to US$10 million (A$14.1 million) for information that leads to the identification of Conti ransomware gang members.

The Rewards for Justice programme run by the United States State Department said it is seeking threat actors known as Target, Reshaev, Professor, Tramp and Dandis, who are believed to be members of the Conti group.

Only one photograph of the alleged Conti associate believed to be Target is available.

Conti is an infamous ransomware group, which the US says is linked to the Russian government to which the criminals have pledged loyalty.

Demanding ransoms as high as US$25 million, Conti not only encrypts data on servers and workstations, the gang also exfiltrates victims' files for extortion.

The ransomware criminals are believed to have attacked over 400 organisations worldwide, in more than 1000 operations, the State Department said.

Among the victims are healthcare and emergency responder networks, law enforcement, critical infrastructure and local governments around the world.

Anyone with information about the Conti threat actors can use the Rewards for Justice reporting site on The Onion Router (TOR) network.