The US Department of Justice announced the arrest of 20-year-old Russian citizen Ruslan Astamirov. He was accused of distributing LockBit ransomware.
According to the released documents, the suspect was involved in LockBit attacks in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa from at least August 2020 to March 2023.
The Ministry of Justice noted that Astamirov used various email addresses, IPs and other accounts to deploy LockBit and communicate with his victims.
He is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as deliberately hacking into secure computers and submitting ransom demands.
Astamirov faces up to 25 years in prison on a combination of articles.
Recall that in November 2022, 33-year-old Russian Mikhail Vasilyev was arrested in Canada on charges of large-scale hacker attacks using LockBit. The US requested his extradition.
May 2023 OFAC imposed sanctions on the Russian Mikhail Matveev, among other things accused of distributing LockBit. He operated under the nicknames Wazawaka, Boriselcin and Uhodiransomwar.
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