News reports say he was tied to Russian interference in the last US election, but a source denies the connection Credit: Thinkstock A Russian man long connected with sending spam emails has been arrested and is being held in Spain, with a law enforcement source contracting news reports saying he was involved with a computer virus linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent election victory.The arrest of Piotr Levashov at the Barcelona airport on Friday was not tied to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, said the source, who is close to the investigation. That contradicts news reports from Agence France-Presse and other news outlets, which said Levashov’s wife, Maria Levachova, was told his arrest was connected to Trump’s election.Levachova, speaking to Russia Today, said Spanish police told her that “a virus which appears to have been created by my husband is linked to the victory of Trump” in November’s election. Levashov remained in custody in Spain Monday, with the U.S. seeking to extradite him, AFP reported.The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on its case against Levashov, noting that the investigation is under seal. Under a different spelling of the first name Pyotr, the suspect appears to be someone long accused of sending spam emails, reports Krebs on Security. Levashov was also known as Severa in several Russian-language cybercrime forums, Krebs reported.This article has been updated to rewrite the lead paragraph and replace the last paragraph with one about Levashov’s spam connections. Related content news Multibillion-dollar cybersecurity training market fails to fix the supply-demand imbalance Despite money pouring into programs around the world, training organizations have not managed to ensure employment for professionals, while entry-level professionals are finding it hard to land a job By Samira Sarraf Oct 02, 2023 6 mins CSO and CISO CSO and CISO CSO and CISO news Royal family’s website suffers Russia-linked cyberattack Pro-Russian hacker group KillNet took responsibility for the attack days after King Charles condemned the invasion of Ukraine. By Michael Hill Oct 02, 2023 2 mins DDoS Cyberattacks feature 10 things you should know about navigating the dark web A lot can be found in the shadows of the internet from sensitive stolen data to attack tools for sale, the dark web is a trove of risks for enterprises. Here are a few things to know and navigate safely. By Rosalyn Page Oct 02, 2023 13 mins Cybercrime Security news ShadowSyndicate Cybercrime gang has used 7 ransomware families over the past year Researchers from Group-IB believe it's likely the group is an independent affiliate working for multiple ransomware-as-a-service operations By Lucian Constantin Oct 02, 2023 4 mins Hacker Groups Ransomware Cybercrime Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe