Karen Vardanyan Pleads Guilty to Participating in Ryuk Ransomware Attacks
Summary
Karen Vardanyan pleaded guilty to participating in Ryuk ransomware attacks against three U.S. organizations in 2019–2020. He agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Key points
- Vardanyan pleaded guilty to computer fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and extortion.
- He admitted participating in Ryuk attacks from November 2019 to April 2020 against a Michigan company, an Oregon technology company, and a Texas school.
- He agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution and faces up to 15 years in prison; sentencing has not been scheduled.
- Prosecutors previously accused Vardanyan and co-conspirators of deploying Ryuk across hundreds of servers and workstations between March 2019 and September 2020.
- Justice Department officials said Vardanyan and his co-conspirators received about 1,160 bitcoins in ransom payments, valued at more than $15 million at the time.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Guilty plea in a Ryuk ransomware case
- Impact
- Karen Serobovich Vardanyan pleaded guilty to participating in Ryuk ransomware attacks against three U.S.-based organizations between November 2019 and April 2020. The attacks affected a Michigan company, an Oregon technology company, and a Texas school; the Michigan company paid nearly $1.2 million in ransom. Vardanyan agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution and faces up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
MITRE ATT&CK
Threat Actors
Andrii Leonydovich PrykhodchenkoProsecutors previously accused him of conspiring with Vardanyan and others to access computer networks and deploy Ryuk ransomware; the article does not report a conviction.Karen Serobovich VardanyanPleaded guilty to participating in Ryuk ransomware attacks against three U.S.-based organizations between November 2019 and April 2020.Levon Georgiyovych AvetisyanProsecutors previously accused him of conspiring with Vardanyan and others to access computer networks and deploy Ryuk ransomware; the article does not report a conviction.Oleg Nikolayevich LyulyavaProsecutors previously accused him of conspiring with Vardanyan and others to access computer networks and deploy Ryuk ransomware; the article does not report a conviction.
Malware
Countries
RussiaThe 34-year-old admitted to participating in cybercrime from November 2019 to April 2020 when he and his co-conspirators deployed Ryuk ransomware against three U.S.-based organizations while living in Ukraine and Russia.UkraineAn Armenian national who was extradited from Ukraine to the United States last year pleaded guilty to participating in a series of attacks in 2019 and 2020 involving Ryuk ransomware, the Justice Department said Thursday.United StatesKaren Serobovich Vardanyan pleaded guilty to taking part in Ryuk ransomware attacks that targeted three U.S.-based organizations between 2019 and 2020.