Two Cybersecurity Professionals Plead Guilty to Targeting Multiple U.S. Victims Using ALPHV BlackCat Ransomware - DataBreaches.Net

"According to court documents, Ryan Goldberg, 40, of Georgia, Kevin Martin, 36, of Texas, and a third, unnamed co-conspirator successfully deployed the ransomware known as ALPHV (BlackCat) between April 2023 and December 2023 against multiple victims located throughout the United States. The three men agreed to pay the ALPHV BlackCat administrators a 20% share of any ransoms received in exchange for access to the ransomware and ALPHV BlackCat's extortion platform."

"All three men worked in the cybersecurity industry. Prior media coverage by the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Ryan Clifford Goldberg served as an incident response manager for the multinational company Sygnia Cybersecurity Services, while Kevin Tyler Martin served as a ransomware threat negotiator for the River North-based DigitalMint. The third, unnamed conspirator, was also employed at DigitalMint. DigitalMint has denied any wrongdoing, fired both employees, and cooperated with the investigation."

"After successfully extorting one victim for approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin, the men split their 80% share of this ransom three ways and laundered the funds through various means. The affidavit alleged that Goldberg and co-conspirators were responsible for five attacks on U.S. victims using BlackCat ransomware. One of the victims was a doctor's office in California. Goldberg et al. encrypted the doctor's systems, and when the victim failed to pay, leaked data, and failed to provide a decryptor."

A federal district court in the Southern District of Florida accepted guilty pleas from Ryan Goldberg, 40, and Kevin Martin, 36, for conspiring to obstruct, delay, or affect commerce through extortion related to 2023 ransomware attacks. Goldberg, Martin, and an unnamed co-conspirator deployed ALPHV (BlackCat) from April to December 2023 against multiple U.S. victims and agreed to pay ALPHV administrators 20% of any ransoms for access to the extortion platform. All three worked in cybersecurity; Goldberg for Sygnia and two at DigitalMint. DigitalMint denied wrongdoing, fired both employees, and cooperated; Sygnia said Goldberg no longer works there. The group extorted about $1.2 million in Bitcoin from one victim, split and laundered proceeds, and allegedly carried out five BlackCat attacks, including encrypting and leaking data from a California doctor's office. Goldberg and Martin pleaded guilty to one count under 18 U.S.C. §1951(a).

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