LockBit: leader of famous cybercrime group identified; check out

According to the US Department of Justice, 31-year-old Russian citizen Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev is the real mastermind of the LockBit ransomware hacking group. Khoroshev had been evading authorities for years under the alias LockBitSupp and may have single-handedly made around US$100 million in profits through criminal acts.

Following the operation that identified LockBitSupp, the FBI, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Europol announced various sanctions against the head of the hacker group, known as one of the most dangerous hacker groups in the world.

Many of Khoroshev’s assets will be frozen and he will not be able to travel. Additionally, any company or US citizen who makes or facilitates payments to LockBit will also be penalized.

LockBitSupp was known for its ability to deceive authorities. He often entertained journalists and digital security experts, boasting about his achievements and the amount of money he made from attacks. He also managed to pretend to be a Chinese hacker for a long time.

LockBit extorted nearly $1 billion from victims worldwide

LockBit hacker group started its activities in 2019. Alongside Khoroshev and his direct subordinates, the gang also maintained a network of affiliates to expand its reach, hacking corporate networks, stealing data, and encrypting devices around the world. The agreement stipulated that direct operators would keep 20% of the amount paid for data recovery, with affiliates keeping the rest.

According to the NCA, LockBit managed to extort approximately US$1 billion (R$5 billion) from attacks on thousands of companies worldwide. The US Department of Justice alleges that Khoroshev and his affiliates made more than US$500 million (R$2.5 billion) from ransom payments.

But the damage doesn’t end there. American federal prosecutors say that LockBit’s criminal actions, in addition to the amounts collected from ransom payments, disrupted the crucial operations of its victims and led to total losses in the region of several billion dollars.

American and European authorities are currently pursuing a series of accusations against Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev. He could face up to 185 years in prison if convicted on all counts.