Because Of This! NetWalker Ransomware Perpetrators Will Get Stiffer Penalties

Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins is alleged to have worked as an IT consultant for Public Works and Government Services in Canada. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA - The perpetrator who often carries out dozens of ransomware attacks has just been extradited to the United States (US). This was done in conjunction with the confiscation of bitcoins worth more than 28 million US dollars.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins is suspected of having worked as an IT consultant for Public Works and Government Services in Canada.

In the US, Vachon-Desjardins will face several charges related to his alleged participation with the NetWalker ransomware group.

Vachon-Desjardins was arrested by Canadian police in January 2021 as part of an international law enforcement campaign targeting the NetWalker ransomware group.

During a search of his Quebec home, officers found 719 bitcoins, worth about US$28.1 million at the time of writing, and US$790,000 in Canadian currency.

"We will use all legally available avenues to pursue seizures and seizures of suspected ransomware, whether located domestically or overseas," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr.

According to TechCrunch, Monday, March 14, authorities in the US and Belgium also seized a dark website used by NetWalker to publish data stolen from victims.

At the time, Vachon-Desjardins was sentenced in a Canadian court to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts related to the theft of computer data, extortion, paying cryptocurrency ransoms, and participating in the activities of a criminal organization.

With Vachon-Desjardins now in the US, he faces further charges alleging conspiring to commit computer fraud and wire fraud, willful damage to protected computers, and submitting requests in connection with tampering with protected computers.

If found guilty, he may have to lose more than $27 million for his involvement with the NetWalker ransomware gang.

For your information, known as Mailto, Netwalker is a prolific ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that asks affiliates to spread ransomware in exchange for a share of the ransom.

The group first emerged in 2019 and has since been linked to several high-profile attacks. In June 2020, the group targeted the University of California San Francisco, which paid a ransom of more than $1 million.

Three months later, NetWalker attacked cyber threat startup Cygilant. The RaaS operation also targeted Argentine immigration agencies, Pakistan's largest private power utility, and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and law enforcement agencies were also targeted.

"We will not stop pursuing and seizing cryptocurrency ransoms, thereby thwarting ransomware perpetrators' attempts to evade law enforcement through the use of virtual currencies," said Polite Jr.