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The Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
A Ukrainian man accused of being a part of the Conti cyberattack saw his first day in court last week following extradition from Ireland.
43-year-old Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko stands accused of working with co-conspirators to deploy the Conti ransomware, attaching the computer systems of over 1000 across the world, with victims found in at least 47 different states as well as over 30 different countries. More than $500,000 in cryptocurrency was extorted from two victims in the Middle District of Tennessee. Data was leaked from a third victim.
Court documents show that the ransomware was used between 2020 and 2022 to infiltrate the computer systems of their victims, encrypting and stealing data from those systems, and then demanding that the conspirators be paid to restore data to the victims and to ensure that data was not leaked.
Lytvynenko was arrested by the Irish national police in July 2023 at the request of the United States and extradited after court proceedings concluded this fall. Authorities allege he continued engaging in cybercrime just days before his arrest.
“The defendant allegedly participated in a conspiracy to extort approximately $150 million in ransomware payments,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said. “The Department will continue to pursue ransomware actors all over the world.”
Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, stated, “His extradition demonstrates the strength of our partnership with Irish law enforcement and the FBI’s commitment to counter cyber criminals who threaten American infrastructure.”
The FBI estimates Conti attacks generated at least $150 million in ransom payments as of early 2022.
Lytvynenko faces charges of computer fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, carrying a combined maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Four of Lytvynenko’s alleged co-conspirators — Maksim Galochkin, Maksim Rudenskiy, Mikhail Mikhailovich Tsarev and Andrey Yuryevich Zhuykov — were also indicted in the same federal court in 2023.
The investigation is being led by the FBI’s Nashville, San Diego, and El Paso field offices, the U.S. Secret Service, and prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Irish government, and the U.S. Embassy in Ireland assisted with the extradition.
Sources:
https://cyberscoop.com/ukrainian-oleksii-lytvynenko-conti-ransomware-extradited/
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ukrainian-national-extradited-ireland-connection-conti-ransomware
https://therecord.media/alleged-conti-ransomware-affiliate-extradited-ireland-tennessee
One Response
Criptoe, about as needed as EVs.