Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, 21, a Russian national from Chechen Republic, Russia, and Mikhail Vasiliev, 34, a dual Canadian and Russian national from Bradford, Ontario, made the pleas July 18 in U.S. District Court for their involvement with LockBit, a cybercriminal gang that has targeted hospitals and health systems.
“Astamirov and Vasiliev thought that they could deploy LockBit from the shadows, wreaking havoc and pocketing massive ransom payments from their victims, without consequence,” said U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger for the District of New Jersey, in a July 18 statement. “They were wrong.”
The men were accused of accessing computer systems then deploying LockBit ransomware to steal and encrypt the data of at least 12 victims each. On top of extorting roughly $500 million, LockBit has caused victims billions of dollars in lost revenue and incident response and recovery, the Department of Justice said.
LockBit has reportedly attacked hospitals in Illinois, New Jersey and New York.
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