Ransom Cartel creator sentenced to 16 years in prison

Maksim Silnikau participated in cybercrime since at least 2005. He ran Ransom Cartel from 2021 until his arrest in 2023.

A longtime cybercriminal was sentenced to 16 years in prison for creating and running Ransom Cartel, a ransomware strain linked to attacks on at least 18 companies between 2021 and 2023, the Justice Department said Wednesday. 

Maksim Silnikau, a Belarusian national, actively participated in Russian-speaking cybercrime forums since at least 2005, and was a member of the cybercrime site Direct Connection from 2011 to 2016, officials said. The 40-year-old created Ransom Cartel and began recruiting participants from cybercrime forums in 2021. 

Silnikau and his co-conspirators attempted to extort at least $5.2 million from victims during the multi-year scheme. 

Victims included a group of law firms, medium-sized businesses, a small medical technology startup, educational institutions and large multinational corporations based in California, New York, Nebraska and elsewhere. Some of the victims’ operations were disrupted for several months, officials said. 

Officials said Silnikau provided his co-conspirators information and tools to attack systems, including stolen credentials and mechanisms to encrypt compromised computers. He also built a site to monitor and control ongoing attacks, communicate with co-conspirators and victims, negotiate payment demands with victims and manage the distribution of funds between co-conspirators. 

Silnikau, also known as “J.P. Morgan,” “xxx,” and “lansky,” fled from Spain while awaiting extradition to the United States and was arrested in Poland in July 2023 as he tried to return to Belarus, according to court records. He was extradited to the United States in August 2023. 

Ransom Cartel’s operations ended when Silnikau was arrested. Authorities applauded his capture at the time, noting that Ransom Cartel didn’t grow large enough to inflict losses comparable to larger ransomware variants. 

Silnikau pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

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