43-year-old Ukrainian citizen Alexei Litvinenko, suspected of belonging to the Russian hacker group Conti, was extradited from Ireland to the United States.
43-year-old Ukrainian citizen Alexei Litvinenko, suspected of belonging to the Russian hacker group Conti, was extradited from Ireland to the United States.
He is alleged to have managed the stolen data of Conti victims and participated in sending ransom messages. This activity was part of a double extortion attack that occurred from 2020 to June 2022, BleepingComputer reports .
Irish police arrested Litvinenko at the request of the United States in July 2023. An Irish court subsequently detained the defendant pending extradition proceedings, which concluded this month.
According to court documents, by the time of his arrest in Ireland, Litvinenko had been involved in various other cybercrime schemes besides Conti.
If convicted, Litvinenko could face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and another 5 years for computer fraud conspiracy.
The Russian cybercrime group Conti launched a ransomware operation in 2020, replacing the Ryuk ransomware group. Over time, Conti evolved into a cybercrime syndicate, taking control of the development of numerous malware, including TrickBot and BazarBackdoor.
Although the group ceased to exist as Conti, its members infiltrated or led a number of other cybercrime operations and ransomware, including BlackCat, Black Basta, ZEON, Hello Kitty, Hive, AvosLocker, Quantum, BlackByte, Karakurt, and the Bazarcall group.
The Department of Justice has linked the Conti ransomware operation to over 1,000 victims worldwide and has collected over $150 million in ransom as of January 2022. Additionally, the FBI estimates that the Conti malware has been used in more attacks on critical infrastructure than any other ransomware variant.
“Litvinenko participated in a conspiracy to deploy the Conti ransomware against victims in the United States and around the world, extorting millions in cryptocurrency and amassing a trove of stolen information,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
