A 20-year-old Russian hacker was part of a campaign that worked to extort tens of millions of dollars from more than 1,400 victims, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Astamirov allegedly deployed ransomware called LockBit to steal sensitive data from the servers of businesses, then lock those systems and demand payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Department of Justice prosecutors allege Astamirov was directly responsible for five different attacks against U.S. businesses in Florida and Virginia, as well as international businesses based in France, Japan and Kenya.
LockBit-powered attacks account for 16% of ransomware attacks against state and local governments, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Astamirov will face a federal judge Thursday, prosecutors said in a release announcing his arrest.
Persons:
Ruslan Astamirov, Astamirov, ransomware, Astarimov, cybercriminals, Lisa Monaco, LockBit, Carlos Del Toro
Organizations:
Department of Justice, U.S, Department of Homeland Security, NBC, CNBC, U.S . Navy
Locations:
Russian, Chechen Republic, , New Jersey, Florida, Virginia, France, Japan, Kenya, Russia, China