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U.S. prosecutors in New Jersey have announced charges against Rostislav Panev, a 51-year-old dual Russian-Israeli national accused of being a key developer for the notorious LockBit ransomware gang.
Panev is currently in Israeli custody and faces extradition to the United States. This marks the third member of the LockBit gang to be arrested, following earlier captures of Mikhail Vasiliev in Canada in 2022 and Ruslan Astamirov in the U.S. in 2023.
The LockBit ransomware gang is notorious for launching crippling data-stealing cyberattacks at thousands of companies worldwide, including those in the United States. In fact, authorities have estimated that LockBit’s attacks alone have resulted in at least $500 million in ransom payments.
Notably, authorities identified and seized LockBit’s infrastructure during a February takedown operation, but the gang briefly bounced back after their leader, known as Dmitry Khoroshev, remained at large.
This latest development represents a significant breakthrough for law enforcement efforts to dismantle the LockBit gang.
Source: techcrunch.com
