A Canadian hacker is forfeiting hundreds of thousands of {dollars} value of Bitcoin (BTC) to the U.S. authorities whereas going through a multi-decade jail sentence.
In accordance with a brand new press launch from the Division of Justice (DOJ), 35-year-old Sebastian Vachon-Desjardins has been sentenced to twenty years in jail for his function within the NetWalker ransomware assaults and likewise ordered to relinquish $21.5 million value of the main digital asset.
Authorities allege that Vachon-Desjardins was the mastermind behind the NetWalker hacks, which focused victims everywhere in the world by encrypting and exfiltrating data from Home windows-based techniques and demanding a ransom of BTC in change for the decryption of the info.
Among the many dangerous actor’s victims had been firms, municipalities, legislation enforcement companies, and training suppliers corresponding to faculties, universities and faculty districts.
The hacker additionally particularly focused healthcare suppliers through the Covid-19 pandemic to make the most of the troubling occasions to extort victims, in accordance with the press launch.
As acknowledged by Assistant Lawyer Common Kenneth A. Well mannered, Jr. of the Justice Division’s Felony Division,
“The defendant recognized and attacked high-value ransomware victims and profited from the chaos brought on by encrypting and stealing the victims’ information.
Immediately’s sentence demonstrates that ransomware actors will face vital penalties for his or her crimes and exemplifies the Division’s steadfast dedication to pursuing actors who take part in ransomware schemes.”
On the time of his arrest in January 2021, authorities searched Vachon-Desjardins residence and seized roughly $544,000 and 719 BTC, value about $14.5 million at time of writing.
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Featured Picture: Shutterstock/Ahmad Kurnia Sandy
