The duo targeted multiple firms using ALPHV / BlackCat ransomware, extorting $1.2 million in Bitcoin.
The duo targeted multiple firms using ALPHV / BlackCat ransomware, extorting $1.2 million in Bitcoin.
Two ex-employees of cybersecurity companies — one a ransomware negotiator — have admitted guilt for conducting a series of ransomware assaults in 2023. The Department of Justice announced the guilty pleas on Tuesday, revealing that 40-year-old Ryan Goldberg and 36-year-old Kevin Martin extorted $1.2 million in Bitcoin from a medical device firm and targeted additional companies.
Goldberg, Martin, and an unnamed accomplice were charged for the attacks in October, which utilized ALPHV / BlackCat ransomware to encrypt and steal data from their victims. As noted by the Chicago Sun-Times, Martin and the third accomplice worked as ransomware negotiators at Digital Mint, a cybercrime and incident response firm, while Goldberg served as an incident response manager at Sygnia Cybersecurity Services.
ALPHV / BlackCat is a hacker collective operating on a ransomware-as-a-service basis, where developers overseeing the malware typically take a percentage of the earnings from cybercriminals utilizing it against victims. In 2023, the FBI created a decryption tool aimed at recovering data from ALPHV / BlackCat victims, which has been linked to significant attacks on companies such as Bandai Namco, MGM Resorts, Reddit, and UnitedHealth Group.
The DOJ’s indictment alleges that Goldberg, Martin, and their accomplice leveraged the ransomware in efforts to extort millions from U.S. victims, including a pharmaceutical firm, a medical office, an engineering company, and a drone manufacturer.
“These defendants exploited their advanced cybersecurity knowledge and skills to carry out ransomware crimes — the exact type of offenses they should have been working to prevent,” stated Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice is dedicated to utilizing all available resources to identify and apprehend those responsible for ransomware attacks wherever jurisdiction permits.”
Goldberg and Martin pled guilty to one charge of “conspiracy to obstruct, delay, or affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by extortion.” Their sentencing is set for March 12th, 2026, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison awaiting them.
