Florida ransomware negotiator convicted for helping ransomware gang extort US companies
A former cybersecurity professional has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring with the BlackCat ransomware gang. The case highlights the rare and dangerous intersection of security experts moonlighting as cybercriminals to extort U.S. companies.
Why it matters
It exposes a significant vulnerability in the cybersecurity industry where trusted insiders can exploit their knowledge to facilitate large-scale ransomware attacks.
Florida man Angelo Martino has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for conspiring with hackers to deploy ransomware during his job as a ransomware negotiator for a U.S. cybersecurity company.
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed the sentence on Thursday, noting that the government seized more than $10 million worth of cryptocurrency and assets. Martino allegedly bought these assets, which include a food truck and a luxury fishing boat, with money stolen in the hacks.
Martino is the third person to be jailed for the scheme, following the earlier incarceration of cybersecurity professionals Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg. The trio, prosecutors say, worked together to deploy the BlackCat ransomware against companies in the United States throughout 2023. In one successful attack, the cyber professionals moonlighting as criminals extorted a company for about $1.2 million, which they then split three ways after laundering the funds.
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