Group-IB
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cybercrime |
| Founded | Moscow, Russia |
| Headquarters | |
Key people |
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| Website |
Group-IB is a cybersecurity company. Founded in 2003 in Moscow, it spun off its Russian operations in 2023 with its operations outside Russia led by Dmitry Volkov, a Russian national, and based in Singapore. The company has acted as legal agent for Tencent in targeting an anti-censorship organization to enforce the Chinese Communist Party's Great Firewall.
The company's non-Russian entity kept the Group-IB name, while the Russian entity continues operations under the F.A.C.C.T. name.
History
[edit]Group-IB was founded in 2003 by Ilya Sachkov and Dmitry Volkov in Russia, to provide cybercrime investigations and digital forensics services.[1] In 2017, the company signed a data sharing agreement with INTERPOL, to coordinate the exchange of threat intelligence.[2] The company moved to Singapore in 2019.[3] In July 2020, it received funding from the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore through venture capital firm TNB Ventures.[4]
In September 2021, Ilya Sachkov, its co-founder and CEO, was detained by Russian authorities for treason.[5] He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.[6] The Russian and international business were later split with the business sold in April 2023 to Russian management to be branded F.A.C.C.T.[7][8] F.A.C.C.T. would market Group-IB products and services while being a separate entity allowing Group-IB to not directly have a presence in Russia.[9] The move was reportedly because its Russian ties were hurting its business.[10] It was reported that despite the business split, founder Ilya Sachkov remained the primary shareholder of both companies.[11]
In December 2023, the company's Moscow spinoff F.A.C.C.T. discovered that a hacking group was targeting Russian companies with a war-related phishing attack.[12] The Group-IB based in Singapore continues to be headed by Dmitry Volkov, a Russian national.[13]
Cooperation with Chinese Communist Party Censorship
[edit]In July 2025, it was reported that Group-IB was acting as legal agent for Tencent, which is subject to the Chinese Communist Party, in acting to kill an anti-censorship organization's WeChat archive which subverted the Great Firewall.[13][14][15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Dmitry Volkov, CEO of Group-IB". The CEO Magazine.
- ^ Olenick, Doug (2 November 2017). "Group IB, INTERPOL sign data exchange agreement". scworld.com.
- ^ "Russian cyber titan Group-IB makes Singapore home". Channel Asia. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Group-IB Receives Funding from CSA". AiThority. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Russia detains cyber-security tycoon Ilya Sachkov in treason case". 29 September 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Russian cybersecurity chief jailed for 14 years for treason". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Cyber firm Group-IB to split Russian, international businesses". Reuters. 6 July 2022.
- ^ Marrow, Alexander (20 April 2023). "Cyber firm Group-IB finalizes Russia split to spur global ambitions". Reuters.
- ^ "Security analyst wanted by both Russia and the US". The Register.
- ^ Page, Carly (1 November 2023). "With its exit from Russia complete, Group-IB plans its US expansion".
- ^ "F.A.C.C.T. created the Cybersecurity Center". TAdviser.ru. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Cyber-espionage group Cloud Atlas targets Russian companies with war-related phishing attacks". therecord.media. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b NetAskari (8 July 2025). "SLAPP: The "Stealthy Way" of Censorship". NetAskari. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- ^ Sharwood, Simon (11 July 2025). "Chinese censorship-busters claim Tencent is trying to kill its WeChat archive". The Register.
- ^ Dar, Khunsha (17 July 2025). "Chinese tech firm Tencent seeks removal of anti-censorship archive FreeWeChat, watchdog says". Hong Kong Free Press.