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US authorities have arrested a resident of Chechnya, 20-year-old Ruslan Astamirov.
Russian citizen Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov was arrested in Arizona and charged by the US Department of Justice with allegedly placing the LockBit ransomware program on the networks of victims in the US and abroad.
The Justice Ministry said in a press release that Astamirov controlled multiple email addresses, IP addresses, and accounts from Internet service providers, which he and his co-conspirators used to run LockBit and organize extortion. As part of the investigation, it was possible to track the transfer of part of the ransom to a bank account registered in the name of Astamirov.
According to the criminal case, a 20-year-old suspect from the Chechen Republic was allegedly involved in the LockBit ransomware attacks between August 2020 and March 2023.
"Astamirov allegedly conspired with other participants in the LockBit ransomware campaign to commit fraud using electronic communications and intentionally damage protected computers, as well as demand ransom through the use and deployment of ransomware programs," the US Department of Justice said.
Astamirov is charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud through electronic communications and conspiracy to cause intentional damage to computer systems and demand ransom. If convicted on the first charge, he faces up to 20 years in prison, and up to five years in prison on the second charge.
In November 2022, the Justice Department released criminal charges against Mikhail Vasiliev, who is currently in custody in Canada and awaiting extradition to the United States.
In May 2023, Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev (also known as Wazawaka, m1x, Boriselcin, and Uhodiransomwar) was also charged with alleged involvement in deploying the LockBit, Babuk, and Hive ransomware programs in attacks on organizations in the United States and beyond.
U.S. and international cybersecurity authorities also said in a joint bulletin published Wednesday that the Lockbit ransomware gang has extorted about $ 91 million from U.S. organizations that have been victims of about 1,700 attacks since 2020.
Russian citizen Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov was arrested in Arizona and charged by the US Department of Justice with allegedly placing the LockBit ransomware program on the networks of victims in the US and abroad.
The Justice Ministry said in a press release that Astamirov controlled multiple email addresses, IP addresses, and accounts from Internet service providers, which he and his co-conspirators used to run LockBit and organize extortion. As part of the investigation, it was possible to track the transfer of part of the ransom to a bank account registered in the name of Astamirov.
According to the criminal case, a 20-year-old suspect from the Chechen Republic was allegedly involved in the LockBit ransomware attacks between August 2020 and March 2023.
"Astamirov allegedly conspired with other participants in the LockBit ransomware campaign to commit fraud using electronic communications and intentionally damage protected computers, as well as demand ransom through the use and deployment of ransomware programs," the US Department of Justice said.
Astamirov is charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud through electronic communications and conspiracy to cause intentional damage to computer systems and demand ransom. If convicted on the first charge, he faces up to 20 years in prison, and up to five years in prison on the second charge.
In November 2022, the Justice Department released criminal charges against Mikhail Vasiliev, who is currently in custody in Canada and awaiting extradition to the United States.
In May 2023, Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev (also known as Wazawaka, m1x, Boriselcin, and Uhodiransomwar) was also charged with alleged involvement in deploying the LockBit, Babuk, and Hive ransomware programs in attacks on organizations in the United States and beyond.
U.S. and international cybersecurity authorities also said in a joint bulletin published Wednesday that the Lockbit ransomware gang has extorted about $ 91 million from U.S. organizations that have been victims of about 1,700 attacks since 2020.
