Three former DigitalMint employees, who investigated ransomware incidents and negotiated with ransomware groups, are accused of hacking into the networks of five American companies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, they participated in BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware attacks and extorted millions of dollars from victims.
The case involves a 28-year-old and a 33-year-old Georgia man and their accomplice. They are charged with conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by racketeering, actual interference with commerce, and intentional damage to protected computers. These charges carry a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times , one of the two and an unidentified accomplice worked at DigitalMint, specializing in ransomware negotiations, while the other was responsible for incident response at another company, Sygnia.
Investigators allege that the defendants became complicit in the BlackCat extortion scheme, hacking into corporate networks, stealing data, and spreading ransomware. The victims were then asked to pay a ransom in cryptocurrency to decrypt their data and “keep the stolen information confidential.”
According to court documents , the group targeted a Tampa-based medical device manufacturer , a Maryland pharmaceutical company , a California engineering firm and medical clinic , and a Virginia-based drone developer .
Ransom demands ranged from $300,000 to $10 million. However, the only payment the hackers actually received was $1.27 million, transferred from a Tampa-based company after the May 2023 attack.
BlackCat (also known as ALPHV) is one of the most active hacker groups in recent years. According to the FBI, in its first two years alone, its partners have carried out over 1,000 attacks and collected at least $300 million in ransoms.
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