Russian access broker sentenced to over 6 years in prison for ransomware schemes

Learn more.

A federal court in Indiana sentenced a Russian cybercriminal to 81 months in prison on charges related to his role as an initial access broker for ransomware groups.

Aleksei Volkov, 26, of St. Petersburg, Russia, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to six federal charges stemming from his work with the Yanluowang ransomware group and other cybercriminal organizations between July 2021 and November 2022. He was arrested in Rome and subsequently extradited to the United States.

Volkov, also known as “chubaka.kor,” operated as an initial access broker, a specialized role in which he identified and exploited vulnerabilities in corporate networks and sold that access to ransomware operators. The function has become increasingly common in the ransomware ecosystem, enabling criminals to profit from attacks without directly deploying malware or executing extortion demands.

According to court documents, Volkov facilitated dozens of attacks that resulted in more than $9 million in confirmed losses to victims and over $24 million in intended losses. Prosecutors identified seven specific U.S. businesses targeted during the 16-month period, including an engineering firm and a bank. Two victims paid a combined $1.5 million in ransom payments.

The Yanluowang ransomware group employed tactics beyond simple data encryption. Victims reported receiving harassing phone calls and experiencing distributed denial of service attacks after their data was stolen, representing an evolution in how ransomware operators apply pressure to targets.

Volkov received compensation through either flat fees for providing network access or percentages of ransom payments collected from victims. When victims refused to pay, conspirators published stolen data on leak websites designed to shame companies and potentially encourage future victims to comply with demands.

His guilty plea covered charges filed in two separate jurisdictions that were later consolidated, including unlawful transfer of a means of identification, trafficking in access information, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

As part of his sentence, Volkov must pay full restitution to victims, including at least $9.1 million to identified companies, and forfeit equipment used in his criminal activities.

Early 764 member sentenced to 77 years, longest prison term to date for a nihilistic violent extremist

Kyle Spitze led an offshoot of the violent extremist collective and victimized dozens of girls, coercing them to degrade themselves under threats of doxing and swatting.

Medusa ransomware tallies hundreds of new victims, says updated advisory on group’s tactics

Tech contractor for Brightly Software sentenced to 2 years in prison for insider attack

Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

Technology

• European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

Threats

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

• Dogged Russia-based botnet dismantled after 23-year run

• FBI raises alarm over deceptive phishing campaign targeting prominent people

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure