Forest Global Training Partners

Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Drones to Diplomas: How Russia’s Largest Private University is Linked to a $25M Essay Mill

Summary: A Krebs on Security investigation describes an academic cheating network operating under 'Nerdify' and 'Geekly' brands that bought its way to the top of Google search results and booked nearly $25 million in revenue through companies in Cyprus, Malta and Hong Kong, forming new entities with new front-people each time Google shut down an ads account. The article links the operation through co-founder Filip Perkon to Synergy University, Russia's largest private education provider with more than 35,000 students, whose president Vadim Lobov was among 11 individuals reportedly hand-picked by convicted Russian spy Marina Butina for the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, and whose corporate footprint includes a site describing work on combat drones for Russian forces.

What's compelling: A $25 million essay mill and a university building drones for Russia's war share a co-founder, which means the ad-funded cheating economy and sanctioned defense work can sit inside the same corporate maze of shell entities and front-people.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Data Breaches
Related