Identity of LockBit Ransomware Administrator Revealed

The FBI, NCA, and Europol have uncovered the identity of the administrator and developer of the LockBit ransomware, known by the aliases LockBitSupp and putinkrab. He is identified as Dmitry Khoroshev, a 31-year-old native of Voronezh.

According to law enforcement, the Russian national amassed $100 million from his criminal activities. The total ransom demanded by him exceeded $500 million.

Khoroshev faces sanctions from the UK, US, and Australia, including asset freezes and travel bans.

A reward of $10 million has been announced for any information leading to the capture and arrest of the Russian.

Earlier, the US government charged five other LockBit members: Artur Sungatov, Ivan Kondratyev (Bassterlord), Ruslan Astamirov, Mikhail Matveev (Wazawaka), and Mikhail Vasiliev.

The latter was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison. Astamirov is in custody awaiting trial.

Law enforcement also reported that the breach and seizure of LockBit’s infrastructure allowed them to obtain more decryption keys than previously announced.

In February, the NCA partially seized the infrastructure of the LockBit ransomware and arrested 200 cryptocurrency wallets linked to the extortion group.

Since June 2022, malware operators have stolen over $120 million from more than 2,300 victims in 7,000 attacks. The US, UK, France, Germany, and China are among the five most affected countries.