The US Division of Justice (DoJ) has introduced the arrest and costs filed in opposition to a Russian nationwide accused of taking part in cyber-attacks utilizing the LockBit ransomware.
Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, a 20-year-old from the Chechen Republic, allegedly focused laptop methods in the US, Asia, Europe and Africa.
Astamirov is the second particular person arrested in reference to the LockBit ransomware marketing campaign inside the previous six months.
It comes months after the Division introduced costs in opposition to Mikhail Vasiliev in November 2022, who’s at present detained in Canada for extradition.
In Might 2023, the Division then indicted Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev for allegedly deploying LockBit, Babuk and Hive ransomware in opposition to victims globally.
“In securing the arrest of a second Russian nationwide affiliated with the LockBit ransomware, the Division has as soon as once more demonstrated the lengthy arm of the regulation,” commented deputy lawyer basic, Lisa O Monaco.
“We’ll proceed to make use of each software at our disposal to disrupt cybercrime, and whereas cyber-criminals might proceed to run, they in the end can not disguise.”
Learn extra on Vasiliev’s arrest: Man Arrested in Ontario For Alleged LockBit Ransomware Involvement
In response to the prison grievance, Astamirov is accused of instantly executing a minimum of 5 assaults in opposition to victims within the US and overseas.
The Russian nationwide allegedly managed numerous on-line accounts to deploy LockBit ransomware and talk with victims. Regulation enforcement reportedly traced a portion of a sufferer’s ransom fee to a digital foreign money handle beneath Astamirov’s management.
The fees in opposition to him embrace conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to deliberately injury protected computer systems and transmit ransom calls for. If convicted, he may withstand 20 years in jail for the primary cost and as much as 5 years for the second.
“The FBI is dedicated to pursuing ransomware actors like Astamirov, who’ve exploited susceptible cyber ecosystems and harmed victims,” mentioned FBI deputy director, Paul Abbate.
“We, in collaboration with our federal and worldwide companions, are absolutely dedicated to the everlasting dismantlement of these kind of ransomware campaigns that deliberately goal folks and our non-public sector companions.”
The LockBit ransomware gang was first detected in January 2020 and has induced over 1400 world assaults, leading to ransom calls for exceeding $10m.
Most not too long ago, the menace actor claimed a breach that affected the Housing Authority of the Metropolis of Los Angeles (HACLA).
