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Tag: prison

Helping North Korean IT remote workers is becoming a fast track to prison

Two U.S. nationals were sentenced to 18 months in prison for operating “laptop farms” that helped North Korean IT workers gain employment at nearly 70 American companies, generating more than $1.2 million for Pyongyang’s government. Although Matthew Issac Knoot of Nashville, Tennessee, and Erick Ntekereze Prince of New York were sentenced in separate cases, both…

American duo sentenced for hosting laptop farms for North Korean IT workers

Two U.S. nationals were sentenced to 18 months in prison for running laptop farms that facilitated North Korea’s expansive remote IT workers scheme, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Matthew Issac Knoot and Erick Ntekereze Prince both received and hosted laptops at their residences to dupe U.S. companies into thinking remote IT workers they hired were…

Russian access broker sentenced to over 6 years in prison for ransomware schemes

A federal court in Indiana sentenced a Russian cybercriminal to 81 months in prison on charges related to his role as an initial access broker for ransomware groups. Aleksei Volkov, 26, of St. Petersburg, Russia, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to six federal charges stemming from his work with the Yanluowang ransomware group and other…

Russian initial access broker helped ransomware gangs extort millions, sentenced to 81 months

A Russian citizen, Aleksei Volkov, was sentenced to 81 months in prison for helping ransomware groups carry out attacks causing over $9 million in actual losses and over $24 million in intended losses, after being arrested in Italy and extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty. According to prosecutors, Volkov was an initial…

81-month sentence for Russian hacker behind major ransomware campaigns

U.S. sentences Russian hacker Aleksei Volkov to 81 months in prison for aiding ransomware attacks, causing over $9M in damages. A U.S. court sentenced Aleksei Olegovich Volkov to 81 months in prison for supporting ransomware groups like Yanluowang. He helped carry out dozens of attacks, causing over $9M in losses. Arrested in Italy in 2024…

U.S. Sentences Russian Hacker to 6.75 Years for Role in $9M Ransomware Damage

A 26-year-old Russian citizen has been sentenced in the U.S. to 6.75 years (81 months) in prison for his role in assisting major cybercrime groups, including the Yanluowang ransomware crew, in conducting numerous attacks against U.S. companies and other organizations. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), Aleksei Olegovich Volkov facilitated dozens of ransomware…

$5M Microsoft Activation Key Fraud Ends in Prison Term

A Florida woman has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison for running a years-long scheme that trafficked thousands of illicit Microsoft software activation keys.  Heidi Richards, who operated Trinity Software Distribution, was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges tied to the resale of Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity…

Former U.S. Defense contractor executive sentenced for selling zero-day exploits to Russian broker Operation Zero

A former employee at U.S. defense contractor L3Harris got over 7 years in prison for selling eight zero-days to a Russian broker. Peter Williams, a 39-year-old Australian former L3Harris employee, received a prison sentence of just over seven years for selling eight zero-day exploits to the Russian broker Operation Zero for millions. Williams pleaded guilty…

Ex-L3Harris executive sentenced to 87 months in prison for selling zero-day exploits to Russian broker

An ex-L3 Harris executive was sentenced to over seven years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to selling eight zero-day exploits to a Russian broker in exchange for millions of dollars. Williams, 39, admitted to two counts of theft of trade secrets in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., last year, acknowledging he took at…

Ukrainian National Sentenced to 5 Years in North Korea IT Worker Fraud Case

A 29-year-old Ukrainian national has been sentenced to five years in prison in the U.S. for his role in facilitating North Korea’s fraudulent information technology (IT) worker scheme. In November 2025, Oleksandr “Alexander” Didenko pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft for stealing the identities of U.S. citizens and selling them to…

Men sentenced to 8 years in $1.3 million computer intrusion and tax fraud scheme

Matthew A. Akande, a Nigerian national, was sentenced by a U.S. District Court to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a scheme to break into Massachusetts tax preparation firms’ computer networks and file fraudulent tax returns. The operation generated over $1.3 million in fraudulent tax refunds.…

Nigerian man sentenced to 8 years in prison for running phony tax refund scheme

A 37-year-old Nigerian man was sentenced to eight years in prison for participating in a five-year cybercrime spree to steal money from the U.S. government through fraudulent tax returns, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Matthew Abiodun Akande was living in Mexico when he and at least four co-conspirators broke into the networks of tax preparation…

How to hack a prison, and the hidden threat of online checkouts

A literal insider threat: we head to a Romanian prison where “self-service” web kiosks allowed inmates to run wild. Then we head to the checkout aisle to ask why JavaScript on payment pages went feral, and how new PCI DSS rules are finally muzzling Magecart-style skimmers. Plus: Graham reveals his new-found superpower with Keyboard Maestro,…