A Canadian court has sentenced a man to two years in prison for allegedly distributing ransomware and carrying out malicious attacks on individuals, businesses and government agencies.
Matthew Filbert, 33, pleaded guilty last October to charges of fraud and unauthorized access to computers following his 2021 arrest in Canada. In total, investigators found more than 1,100 victims who faced illegal actions of Filbert.
In sentencing Friday in an Ontario Court, prosecutors noted that Filbert's attacks sometimes resulted in victims losing thousands of dollars, including one incident in which more than $ 10,000 was stolen from the family business.
Other targets included three Canadian police departments and even the Ronald McDonald House children's charity in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Filbert, who lives in Ottawa, was captured after an investigation involving the Ontario Police Department and the FBI's Anchorage, Alaska bureau. At the time, a federal court in Alaska had already issued a separate indictment against Filbert.
The US case alleged that Filbert "attempted to cause unauthorized damage to a secure computer belonging to the state of Alaska" in 2018, while simultaneously affecting employees medical data.
Filbert's favorite method of attack was phishing emails with documents that looked like a resume, but in fact contained malware that allowed him to fully control the victim's computer.
The identities of Filbert's numerous accomplices have not yet been established, but both American and Canadian law enforcement agencies are working in this direction.
Matthew Filbert, 33, pleaded guilty last October to charges of fraud and unauthorized access to computers following his 2021 arrest in Canada. In total, investigators found more than 1,100 victims who faced illegal actions of Filbert.
In sentencing Friday in an Ontario Court, prosecutors noted that Filbert's attacks sometimes resulted in victims losing thousands of dollars, including one incident in which more than $ 10,000 was stolen from the family business.
Other targets included three Canadian police departments and even the Ronald McDonald House children's charity in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Filbert, who lives in Ottawa, was captured after an investigation involving the Ontario Police Department and the FBI's Anchorage, Alaska bureau. At the time, a federal court in Alaska had already issued a separate indictment against Filbert.
The US case alleged that Filbert "attempted to cause unauthorized damage to a secure computer belonging to the state of Alaska" in 2018, while simultaneously affecting employees medical data.
Filbert's favorite method of attack was phishing emails with documents that looked like a resume, but in fact contained malware that allowed him to fully control the victim's computer.
The identities of Filbert's numerous accomplices have not yet been established, but both American and Canadian law enforcement agencies are working in this direction.
