Indictmentseverity: High2025-11-19
Two U.S. cybersecurity workers plead guilty to ALPHV BlackCat affiliate scheme
published by U.S. Department of Justice
Actor
Russian-speaking ransomware-as-a-service operation, first observed November 2021, notable as the first prominent ransomware family written in Rust. Operated the affiliate program responsible for the…
Summary
DOJ announced that Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiring to commit Hobbs Act extortion via ALPHV BlackCat attacks on U.S. victims between April and December 2023. The defendants, both employed in the cybersecurity industry, agreed to pay BlackCat operators a 20% share of ransoms and successfully extorted one victim of approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin.
Tags
dojguilty-pleaaffiliateextortion
Primary source
justice.govOther ALPHV/BlackCat events
- 2024-03-05ALPHV BlackCat shuts down in apparent exit scam after Change Healthcare payment
- 2024-02-21Change Healthcare ransomware incident attributed to ALPHV BlackCat
- 2023-12-19FBI-led international operation seizes ALPHV infrastructure and releases decryptor
- 2023-12-19Joint CISA/FBI/HHS advisory AA23-353A on ALPHV BlackCat
- 2021-11-01ALPHV/BlackCat Rust-based RaaS first observed