Russia Cyber Security Mogul's Son Rescued From Kidnappers
Ivan Kaspersky freed by Moscow police, five arrested in raid.
April 25, 2011 — -- The son of the founder of one of the world's largest cyber security firms, Russia's Kaspersky Lab, was rescued from kidnappers by Moscow police, Russian federal agents and the firm's own security forces on Sunday.
In a statement, a company spokesman said Kaspersky Lab had "wonderful news to share this Easter Sunday ... it's over."
"Ivan is alive and well and is currently located at a safe location," said the statement. "No ransom was paid during the rescue operation." Ivan's father, company founder Evgeny Kaspersky, was unavailable for comment.
Ivan Kaspersky, a 20-year-old Moscow University student, was kidnapped Tuesday while on his way to work. News reports last week said the kidnappers were demanding 3 million Euros for his release.
A Moscow police spokesman said Sunday that Moscow police, riot police, and agents of the Federal Security Service "recovered Kaspersky's son in the Moscow Region" without firing a shot. The spokesman said that five people were arrested in the raid, and that no ransom was paid. The Kaspersky Lab statement also said company security personnel participated in the operation. According to Russian media reports, the kidnappers were promised money but never received any.
After Ivan Kaspersky's kidnapping Tuesday, the company had posted a statement on the company website that did not deny reports of the abduction, but asked the media not to speculate on the case.
"Eugene [Evgeny] Kaspersky continues his day-to-day work at the company, and has stated that the unconfirmed information being spread at the moment is harmful for the company," the statement said.
Russian media later that the son had been released after the ransom was paid, but a spokesperson for Kaspersky Labs told ABC News that was an "unconfirmed report."
Forensic psychiatrist Mikhail Vinogradov, head of Russia's private Center for Legal and Psychological Assistance in Emergency Situations, said that kidnapping the offspring of Russia's new class of wealthy entrepreneurs had become a popular crime. "Every year 200-300 kids of rich parents get kidnapped in Russia," said Vinogradov, who added that while the practice is common in other countries too, "In Russia it is tougher, it is more brutal."
Last year Evgeny Kaspersky was awarded "CEO of the Year" by England's SC Magazine. The company operates in 100 countries for more than 300 million customers, according to the Kaspersky Lab website. Kaspersky Lab is worth an estimated $800 million, according to Russian media.
Kaspersky Lab was among several major cyber security companies to analyze Stuxnet, the revolutionary computer worm that allegedly attacked an Iranian nuclear facility in 2010. They heralded the worm as "a working -- and fearsome -- prototype of a cyber-weapon, that will lead to the creation of a new arms race in the world."
READ: Stuxnet, Could Cyber Weapon Be Turned on U.S.?
ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.