A cybercriminal has been sentenced to four years in prison. The man deployed LockBit ransomware software and was involved in the activities of the ransomware group.
A key member of the LockBit ransomware group has been sentenced to four years in prison, Canadian broadcaster CTV News reports. A judge in Ontario, Canada, decided the fate of cybercriminal Mikhail Vasiliev.
The trial did not deal with the recent arrests made as part of the FBI and Europol operation. In fact, the man was arrested back in November 2022.
$100 million looted
Vasiliev is suspected of involvement in more than a thousand cyber attacks, which allegedly raised a ransom of more than $100 million.
The time frame for these attacks does not appear to be too long. Vasiliev, according to his lawyer, became a hacker during the pandemic. The first lockdown happened in the spring of 2020. A year and a half later, he was already arrested.
A fine of $860,000
In addition to the four-year prison sentence, the convict will be fined $860,000. That amount is the compensation for the Canadian victims. Vasiliev will later stand trial in America for these cybercrimes and may receive additional punishment there.
The ransomware group also continues its activities today. LockBit is the market leader in Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS). This means the group provides the tools to carry out a cyber attack and a website to publicly extort the victim.
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