A 20-year-old Russian national has been arrested in the United States for hacking. American justice accuses him of being a member of the cybercriminal collective Lockbit, a group of hackers known in France for having attacked the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital.
US police have caught a hacker working for the notorious cybercriminal collective Lockbit. Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, a Russian national, was arrested in Arizona on June 15. According to the Department of Justice, the 20-year-old suspect from the Republic of Chechnya participated in attacks with LockBit ransomware between August 2020 and March 2023. Astamirov directly executed at least five attacks against computer systems in the United States and abroad “says the prosecutor. American justice indicates that this is the third accused recognized member of Lockbit, and the second to be apprehended. ” LockBit conspirators and all other ransomware authors cannot hide behind imaginary online anonymity. We will continue to work tirelessly with all of our law enforcement partners to identify and bring them to justice. adds the prosecutor.
A hacker, also a Russian national, had been arrested in November 2022 in Canada. The FBI revealed in May the face of another active member of Lockbit, the latter himself confirmed to be a cybercriminal, but does not seem worried since he resides in Russia.
Hackers wanted worldwide
The Lockbit Collective is by far the most prolific group of hackers in the world. According to a joint report published on June 14 by the American and European authorities, including France, this gang would be responsible for around 1,700 attacks since its creation in 2019. The cybercriminals would have extorted nearly 90 million euros, nevertheless we cannot actually determine their earnings since many victims do not admit to having paid.
In France, ANSSI, the cybersecurity agency, has handled 80 alerts linked to the LockBit ransomware since 2020. Among the most striking attacks, we can cite those against the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital, the Nuxe cosmetics brand or the Elsa clinic in January 2023.
As a reminder, the Lockbit group manages malware that it rents out to around a hundred “affiliates”. The latter then target companies, administrations, hospitals, and pay a commission when they manage to obtain a ransom. The young Russian national arrested on June 15 is probably just an affiliate. The managers of the collective and the malware are therefore not worried for the moment.
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