Security News
Security researchers analyzing the Alpha ransomware payload and modus operandi discovered overlaps with the now-defunct Netwalker ransomware operation. The Alpha ransomware operation emerged in February 2023 but kept a low profile, didn't promote on hacker forums, nor did its operators carry out many attacks.
In the DOJ's blunt words, "Grabowski remains a fugitive." As you probably know, ransomware criminals typically use anonymous darkweb hosts for contact purposes when they're "Negotiating" their blackmail payoffs.
A bulletproof hosting provider is a hosting company that turns a blind eye to reports of criminal activity or the hosting of copyrighted material on their servers. Cybercriminals prefer these types of hosting providers over traditional companies, as they can launch cybercrime campaigns without fear that they will be shut down after malicious activity is reported.
An ex-Canadian government worker who extorted tens of millions of dollars from organizations worldwide using the NetWalker ransomware has been sent down for 20 years. NetWalker ransomware affiliates - losers who rent the malware to use against victims - specifically attacked hospitals during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, using the global crisis to extort healthcare organizations.
Naked Security has written and talked about Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins before, in both article and podcast form. Vachon-Desjardins had been a federal government worker in the Canadian Capital Region.
A former affiliate of the Netwalker ransomware has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the U.S., a little over three months after the Canadian national pleaded guilty to his role in the crimes. Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins, 35, has also been ordered to forfeit $21,500,000 that was illicitly obtained from dozens of victims globally, including companies, municipalities, hospitals, law enforcement, emergency services, school districts, colleges, and universities.
Former Netwalker ransomware affiliate Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and demanded to forfeit $21.5 million for his attacks on a Tampa company and other entities.Vachon-Desjardins, a 34 Canadian man extradited from Quebec, was sentenced today in a Florida court after pleading guilty to 'Conspiracy to commit Computer Fraud', 'Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud', 'Intentional Damage to Protected Computer,' and 'Transmitting a Demand in Relation to Damaging a Protected Computer.
The choice of Tampa for his trial was because a known victim of one of his "NetWalker" ransomware attacks is based there. The NetWalker Ransomware was a specific type of malicious software that was used to compromise and restrict access to a victim's computer network in an effort to extort a ransom.
A former Canadian government employee this week agreed to plead guilty in the U.S. to charges related to his involvement with the NetWalker ransomware syndicate. The 34-year-old IT consultant from Gatineau, Quebec, was initially apprehended in January 2021 following a coordinated law enforcement operation to dismantle the dark web infrastructure used by the NetWalker ransomware cybercrime group to publish data siphoned from its victims.
A former Canadian government employee has pleaded guilty in a US court to several charges related to his involvement with the NetWalker ransomware gang. He will also forfeit $21.5 million and 21 laptops, mobile phones, gaming consoles, and other devices, according to his plea agreement [PDF], which described Vachon-Desjardins as "One of the most prolific NetWalker Ransomware affiliates" responsible for extorting said millions of dollars from dozens of companies worldwide.