A 36-year-old Ukrainian nationwide was sentenced to jail within the US for his function in Nefilim ransomware assaults.
The person, Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, who had been dwelling in Barcelona, was arrested in Spain in June 2024 and extradited to the US in April 2025. He pleaded responsible in December 2025.
In response to court docket paperwork, Stryzhak joined the Nefilim ransomware operation as an affiliate in June 2021 and used the malware in assaults towards organizations within the US and overseas.
Stryzhak agreed with Nefilim administrator Volodymyr Tymoshchuk to pay the Nefilim directors 20% of the ransom proceeds extorted from victims.
The defendant operated as a Nefilim ransomware affiliate between June 2021 and October 2021. One in every of his victims was an unnamed firm within the oil and gasoline transportation business.
Paperwork introduced in court docket additionally present that Stryzhak was one of many early associates to affix the Hive ransomware group, which hit over 1,500 victims worldwide between June 2021 and January 2023.
The paperwork present that Stryzhak used the Hive ransomware towards seven sufferer organizations, together with a dental workplace, a healthcare supplier, and legislation companies. A number of the victims paid a ransom, and the cybercriminals supplied a decryption key to get better the encrypted information.
Stryzhak was sentenced to 70 months in jail for conspiracy to commit laptop fraud.
“Artem Stryzhak is a prolific cybercriminal who labored with a number of ransomware teams to focus on U.S. companies and hospitals. These teams disrupted affected person care and brought on greater than $100 million in losses,” FBI operations director Brett Leatherman mentioned.
The US State Division is providing as much as $10 million for info resulting in the arrest or conviction of Tymoshchuk, who stays at massive, and as much as $1 million for info on different leaders of the ransomware teams he ran.
Associated: Ransomware Response Knowledgeable Arrested in ShinyHunters FBI Hack Probe
Associated: Faux Decryption Instruments Masked $11M Markup in Ransomware Restoration Scheme
Associated: Qilin Ransomware Suspect Arrested in Japan, Extradited to Germany
Associated: Police Shut Down KillSec Ransomware, Establish Alleged Teen Chief
