A Ukrainian hacker who was part of the notorious hacking group Revil has been sentenced to 13 years and seven months in prison in the US. He has also been ordered to pay $16 million (14.93 million euros) in compensation for his involvement in over 2,500 ransomware attacks, as announced by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday.
Deputy Attorney General Nicole Argentieri stated that the 24-year-old hacker and his accomplices hacked thousands of computers worldwide and encrypted them with ransomware. They would then demand ransom payments of over $700 million and threaten to publish the victims’ data if they did not pay. One of Revil’s attacks included a major ransomware attack on US software company Kaseya in 2021, impacting numerous companies in at least 17 countries.
The convicted hacker was arrested in Poland in 2021 as part of a global operation against ransomware attacks. He was extradited to the US in 2022 and confessed to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering, as well as guilty of damaging protected computers. Russia had announced in January 2022 that they dismantled Revil at the request of the US.
The cyber attacks carried out by Revil have raised concerns globally about cybersecurity and the increasing threat of ransomware attacks. The impact of such attacks can be substantial, affecting businesses and individuals on a large scale. Governments and organizations are constantly working to strengthen their cybersecurity measures to prevent such attacks in the future.