Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

A former ransomware negotiator was sentenced to nearly six years for secretly helping BlackCat extort victims while betraying his clients. A U.S. court sentenced former ransomware negotiator Angelo Martino, 41, to 70 months in prison for conspiring with the BlackCat ransomware gang. While negotiating on behalf of five victims, he secretly shared confidential information about […]

A former employee of cybersecurity incident response company DigitalMint was sentenced to 70 months in prison for targeting U.S. companies in BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware attacks. [...]

A 41-year-old former ransomware negotiator has been sentenced to nearly six years (i.e., 70 months) in prison in the U.S. for their role in conspiring with the now-defunct BlackCat ransomware operators to extort multiple victims and working with two other cybersecurity professionals to target additional victims in 2023

The cybersecurity workers used their knowledge and skills to conduct ransomware attacks for notorious gang, rather than protect victims against them

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday announced the sentencing of two cybersecurity professionals to four years each in prison for their role in facilitating BlackCat ransomware attacks in 2023

Two former employees of cybersecurity incident response companies Sygnia and DigitalMint were sentenced to four years in prison each for targeting U.S. companies in BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware attacks. [...]

A third individual who was employed as a ransomware negotiator has pleaded guilty to conducting ransomware attacks against U.S. companies in 2023

41-year-old Angelo Martino, a former employee of cybersecurity incident response company DigitalMint, has pleaded guilty to targeting U.S. companies in BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware attacks in 2023. [...]

The U.S. Department of Justice charged another former DigitalMint employee for his involvement in an insider scheme in which ransomware negotiators secretly partnered with the BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware operation. [...]

Americans Extorted at Least 5 Firms, Earning $1 Million From a Medical Device MakerTwo American cybersecurity professionals who moonlighted as BlackCat ransomware gang affiliates pleaded guilty to using the crypto-locking malware to extort at least five victims in the United States, including a medical device maker that paid a cryptocurrency ransom worth over $1 million.

Two former employees of cybersecurity incident response companies Sygnia and DigitalMint have pleaded guilty to targeting U.S. companies in BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware attacks in 2023. [...]

DOJ: Suspects Hit 5 Firms, Including 3 in Healthcare, Netted $1.3M in Ransom MoneyThree former employees of two cybersecurity firms stand accused of using BlackCat ransomware in a conspiracy to extort five U.S. companies, including three in the healthcare sector. One of the victim companies paid nearly $1.3 million to the attackers, U.S. federal prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors in the U.S. have accused a trio of allegedly hacking the networks of five U.S. companies with BlackCat (aka ALPHV) ransomware between May and November 2023 and extorting them

Three former employees of cybersecurity incident response companies DigitalMint and Sygnia have been indicted for allegedly hacking the networks of five U.S. companies in BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware attacks between May 2023 and November 2023. [...]

Feds Count Over 200 Known US Victims of Ransomware Group That Launched in FebruaryBeware a surge in attacks tied to a ransomware group called RansomHub that's recruited affiliates from down-or-out operations LockBit and BlackCat and successfully crypto-locked systems at more than 200 organizations nationwide, including critical infrastructure, the U.S. government warned.

There are indications that U.S. healthcare giant Change Healthcare has made a $22 million extortion payment to the infamous BlackCat ransomware group (a.k.a. "ALPHV") as the company struggles to bring services back online amid a cyberattack that has disrupted prescription drug services nationwide for weeks. However, the cybercriminal who claims to have given BlackCat access to Change's network says the crime gang cheated them out of their share of the ransom, and that they still have the sensitive data that Change reportedly paid the group to destroy. Meanwhile, the affiliate's disclosure appears to have prompted BlackCat to cease operations entirely. 

The U.S. government is warning about the resurgence of BlackCat (aka ALPHV) ransomware attacks targeting the healthcare sector as recently as this month

Today, the FBI, CISA, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned U.S. healthcare organizations of targeted ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware attacks. [...]

The U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information that could lead to the identification or location of ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware gang leaders. [...]

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disclosed today that it infiltrated the world's second most prolific ransomware gang, a Russia-based criminal group known as ALPHV and BlackCat. The FBI said it seized the gang's darknet website, and released a decryption tool that hundreds of victim companies can use to recover systems. Meanwhile, BlackCat responded by briefly "unseizing" its darknet site with a message promising 90 percent commissions for affiliates who continue to work with the crime group, and open season on everything from hospitals to nuclear power plants.