Ryuk ransomware operator sentenced to 2 years in prison
Armenian Ryuk operator Karen Vardanyan received a two-year U.S. sentence and about $1.2 million restitution.
The U.S. Justice Department said Karen Vardanyan, a 35-year-old Armenian national extradited from Ukraine, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to computer fraud and conspiracy tied to Ryuk ransomware attacks in 2019 and 2020. The sentence includes about $1.2 million in restitution and three years of supervised release, followed by removal from the United States. Court records cite a Michigan company that paid nearly $1.2 million, an Oregon technology company, and a Texas school. Prosecutors said Vardanyan and co-conspirators received about 1,160 bitcoins, then worth more than $15 million, after deploying Ryuk on hundreds of systems.
- Vardanyan pleaded guilty in July after extradition from Ukraine.
- Sentence is two years, about $1.2 million restitution, and three years supervised release.
- Co-conspirators include two Ukrainian nationals and another Armenian national.
- Prosecutors say the group received about 1,160 bitcoin, then over $15 million.
- Threat actors
- Karen VardanyanOleg Nikolayevich LyulyavaAndrii Leonydovich PrykhodchenkoLevon Georgiyovych Avetisyan
- Malware
- Ryuk
- Organizations
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Countries
- ArmeniaUkraineRussiaUnited States
From the original article
3 min read at cyberscoop.com
The Armenian national was extradited from Ukraine to the United States last year and pleaded guilty to cybercrimes in July. The post Ryuk ransomware operator sentenced to 2 years in prison appeared first on CyberScoop.
By Matt Kapko · cyberscoop.com
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