Russian Hacker Arrested in U.S. with Ties to LockBit Ransomware

The U.S. Justice Department arrested a Russian man for his alleged role in LockBit Ransomware attacks against victims worldwide.

20-year-old Russian national Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov is being accused of five cyberattacks between August 2020 and March 2023. Four of these attacks are said to have deployed LockBit Ransowmare.

“Astamirov allegedly participated in a conspiracy with other members of the LockBit ransomware campaign to commit wire fraud and to intentionally damage protected computers and make ransom demands through the use and deployment of ransomware,” the Justice Department said.

Two of the alleged attacks were carried out on U.S.-based organizations, while the other three were said to have been attacks on organizations in Japan, France and Kenya.

According to complaints, one of the victims paid a total of $700,000, while another refused to pay.

LockBit, a ransomware-as-a-service operation that began in 2019, has been used in nearly 1,800 attacks against victims worldwide since its inception. In 2022, LockBit attacks accounted for 18% of total cybersecurity attacks – targeting Businesses, Schools and Government agencies. The RaaS operation has collected approximately $91 million in ransoms since 2020.

Astamirov was arrested in the U.S. after law enforcement was able to trace a ransom payment to a cryptocurrency address under his control. He has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to transmit ransom demands, commit wire fraud, and intentional damage to protected computers. If he is found guilty, Ruslan could face up to 25 years in prison across all charges.

Story via TechCrunch