A Canadian has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the notorious NetWalker ransomware attacks, like this US Department of Justice announced.
35-year-old Sebastian Vachon-Desjardins from Quebec was extradited to the United States thanks to the extradition treaty between Canada and the United States. At the request of US authorities, Canadian law enforcement authorities arrested the accused in January 2021 and executed a search warrant at his home, the statement said.
The press release states that
“During the search, officers discovered and seized $742,840 in Canadian currency and 719 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $21,849,087 at the time of the seizure and $14,463,993 as of today.”
Currently, this amount of Bitcoin (BTC) is worth $14.53 million.
Vachon-Desjardins was also ordered to collect $21.5 million.
The defendant was associated with a criminal gang and was involved in a sophisticated form of ransomware that targeted “dozens of victims around the world,” according to the Justice Department, citing court documents.
US Attorney Roger B. Handberg was quoted as saying the defendant targeted “hundreds of victims in numerous countries at the height of an international public health crisis.”
According to CBC, Vachon-Desjardins is a former IT specialist for Public Services and Procurement Canada. He pleaded guilty to four counts, including computer fraud and transmission of a claim related to damaging a protected computer in the United States.
He is also described as one of the “most prolific members” of the Russian-speaking criminal group.
According to this source, Netwalker targeted about 400 victims in more than 30 countries and collected $40 million in ransom payments.
chain analysis found that more than $46 million worth of ransoms had been paid since Netwalker first surfaced in August 2019. “It picked up steam in mid-2020 and the average ransom increased from $18,800 in 2019 to $65,000 last year,” the blockchain analytics firm said back in January 2021.
Who are the victims?
Victims included not all necessary but included businesses, communities, hospitals, colleges, universities and even law enforcement and emergency services, the Justice Department statement said.
“The attacks specifically targeted the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic and took advantage of the global crisis to blackmail victims,” it said.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated that Vachon-Desjardins identified and attacked high-value ransomware victims, then exploited the chaos created by encrypting and stealing victims’ data ” …
According to an UpGuard post, Netwalker is a Windows-specific ransomware that encrypts and exfiltrates all data it receives.
“Following a successful attack, victims receive a ransom note demanding Bitcoin payment in exchange for full decryption of the compromised data.
Is added to that,
“Criminal partners get an extravagant share of every ransom payment, and with unlimited earning potential, they’re motivated to quickly spread the ransomware far and wide.”
die FBIField office in Tampa was investigating the case, and Special Agent in Charge David Walker was quoted in the DoJ announcement as saying that “this conviction serves as a reminder to the American public of the FBI’s commitment to combating cyber threats.” “
You can also find our news on our social media channels:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/de_cryptonews
Telegram: https://t.me/cryptonewsDE1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/72771562
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DEcryptonews
