Two US Cybersecurity Professionals Sentenced for BlackCat Ransomware Scheme
Summary
Two US cybersecurity professionals received four-year prison sentences after pleading guilty to participating in BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware attacks. A third participant has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Key points
- Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin each received a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to obstruct or affect interstate commerce by extortion.
- Authorities said the three cybersecurity professionals, including ransomware negotiators, used BlackCat/ALPHV to attack several companies and paid 20% of ransom proceeds to the operation's administrators.
- Authorities said the men received roughly $1.2 million from one victim and laundered their share.
- Angelo Martino has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9.
- More than 1,000 organizations were targeted in BlackCat attacks between November 2021 and December 2023, when authorities disrupted the operation.
- The article says the cybercriminals later received a $22 million ransom from a victim and carried out an exit scam.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Sentencing of two cybersecurity professionals who pleaded guilty to participating in ransomware attacks; a third participant pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
- Impact
- Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin each received four-year prison sentences. Authorities said the participants received roughly $1.2 million from one victim and paid 20% of the ransom to the ransomware operation’s administrators. The article also reports that BlackCat attacks targeted more than 1,000 organizations between November 2021 and December 2023.
Threat Actors
Angelo MartinoPleaded guilty for his role in the ransomware scheme and was awaiting sentencing at the time of the article.Kevin Tyler MartinPleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct or affect interstate commerce by extortion and was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in ransomware attacks.Ryan GoldbergPleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct or affect interstate commerce by extortion and was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in ransomware attacks.