The U.S. District Courtroom for the Japanese District of New York has unsealed a superseding indictment in opposition to a Ukrainian nationwide, charging him together with his alleged position as an administrator within the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware operations.
The schemes reportedly extorted over 250 corporations in america and tons of extra throughout the globe, inflicting tens of millions of {dollars} in damages.
The defendant, Volodymyr Viktorovich Tymoshchuk, additionally identified by aliases reminiscent of “deadforz,” “Boba,” “msfv,” and “farnetwork,” is dealing with a number of expenses for his involvement in these widespread cyberattacks.
“Volodymyr Tymoshchuk is charged for his position in ransomware schemes that extorted greater than 250 corporations throughout america and tons of extra world wide,” acknowledged Performing Assistant Legal professional Common Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Division’s Felony Division.
He added that the assaults typically led to the whole disruption of enterprise operations till the victims may get better or restore their encrypted knowledge.
In line with the indictment, between December 2018 and October 2021, Tymoshchuk and his co-conspirators deployed the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware variants to encrypt laptop networks within the U.S., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.
The attackers personalized the ransomware for every sufferer, guaranteeing that the decryption key was distinctive. If a sufferer paid the ransom, they might obtain a instrument to unlock their recordsdata.
“Tymoshchuk is a serial ransomware legal who focused blue-chip American corporations, well being care establishments, and enormous international industrial corporations, and threatened to leak their delicate knowledge on-line in the event that they refused to pay,” stated U.S. Legal professional Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Japanese District of New York.
From July 2019 to June 2020, the group allegedly compromised the networks of tons of of corporations with LockerGoga and MegaCortex.
Nonetheless, legislation enforcement efficiently thwarted many of those assaults by notifying victims earlier than the ransomware might be totally deployed.
Following the preliminary wave of assaults, Tymoshchuk is alleged to have turn into an administrator for the Nefilim ransomware from July 2020 to October 2021.
He and different directors offered the ransomware to associates, together with co-defendant Artem Stryzhak, in trade for a 20% reduce of the ransom proceeds.
Stryzhak was beforehand extradited from Spain and faces expenses in the identical district. The fees in opposition to Tymoshchuk embrace conspiracy to commit laptop fraud, intentional harm to a protected laptop, and transmitting threats to reveal confidential data.
The investigation, led by the FBI, is a part of a broader worldwide effort involving authorities in France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine, with help from Europol and Eurojust.
In a major blow to the ransomware teams, decryption keys for LockerGoga and MegaCortex have been launched to the general public in September 2022 by the “No Extra Ransomware Venture,” permitting victims to get better their knowledge with out paying a ransom.
Concurrent with the indictment, the U.S. Division of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program is providing a reward of as much as $11 million for data resulting in the arrest, conviction, or location of Tymoshchuk or his conspirators.
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