Alleged LockBit ransomware operator arrested in Canada

A person with twin Russian and Canadian nationality has been arrested in connection together with his alleged half within the LockBit ransomware conspiracy that has demanded greater than $100 million from its victims.

LockBit has develop into one of many world’s most lively ransomware-as-a-service operations, working with associates to exfiltrate information from victims earlier than encrypting recordsdata on compromised networks.  If LockBit’s victims refuse to pay their extortionists, their information is invariably printed on the felony group’s leak web site.

33-year-old Mikhail Vasiliev, is now in custody in Canada, awaiting extradition to america.  His arrest comes following an investigation by the FBI and its worldwide regulation enforcement parters that began in March 2020.

When Vasiliev’s residence in Bradford, Ontario, was searched by Canadian regulation enforcement in August 2022 they found a pc file known as TARGETLIST that appeared to include an inventory of previous and potential victims, together with a enterprise in New Jersey that was hit by LockBit in or round November 2021.

As well as, the felony grievance towards Vasiliev says that screenshots of end-to-end encrypted conversations with the Tux username “LockBitSupp” (assumed to be shorthand for “LockBitSupport”) had been uncovered, which contained a number of discussions associated to the ransomware operation and communication with victims.  Moreover, supply code for a program that will encrypt information, and pictures of a compuetr display screen displaying usernames and passwords for workers at an organisation hit by LockBit in January 2022.

Throughout an additional search on October 26, 2022, officers say they found Vasiliev in his storage, sat at a laptop computer pc.  Tehy had been in a position to restrain Vasiliev earlier than he may lock the pc, and famous that it seemed to be logged in to a LockBit management panel.

Vasiliev is charged with conspiracy to deliberately injury protected computer systems and to transmit ransom calls for. If convicted, he may resist 5 years in jail.

One of many LockBit group’s most excessive profile victims was IT and consulting large Accenture, which was struck in August 2021.  The gang claimed to have stolen six terabytes of knowledge from the corporate’s community, and demanded a $50 million ransom.

Different LockBit victims have included Merseyrail, the railway community serving Liverpool and its environment within the UK, and most not too long ago German autoparts producer Continental.