Alleged Ukrainian fraudster extradited to US over $500K Conti ransomware plot
A Ukrainian man accused of using the Conti ransomware for cryptocurrency extortion was extradited from Ireland to the US yesterday to begin legal proceedings in Tennessee, according to the US Justice Department. Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko was arrested and charged in 2023 for conspiring to infect people’s computers, encrypt their data, and hold it for ransom. The 43-year-old and his co-conspirators allegedly extorted over $500,000 worth of crypto from two victims in Tennessee and shared a third victim’s stolen data online. Lytvynenko’s alleged role involved managing the stolen data and helping out with the ransom notes given to Conti victims. Europol bounty for Russian crypto ransomware gang wasn’t real Read more: LockBit ransomware gang sends ‘friendly advice’ to new FBI Director Kash Patel Conti is a ransomware-as-a-service tool created by Russian hacking collective “Wizard Spider” in 2019. The FBI claims that, as of January 2022, Conti ha...