prison
Owner of Empire cybercrime market gets 40 years in prison
The co-creator of Empire Market, one of the largest dark web marketplaces before its shutdown, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for facilitating $430 million in illegal transactions from 2018 to 2020. 30-year-old Raheim Hamilton (also known online as “Sydney” and “ZeroAngel”) owned and operated Empire Market from August 2017 until its abrupt […]
US soldier gets 70 months in prison for extorting 10 tech, telecom firms
A former U.S. Army soldier has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for hacking and extorting at least 10 U.S. technology and telecommunications companies between April 2023 and December 2024. 21-year-old Cameron John Wagenius (also known online as ‘kiberphant0m’ and ‘cyb3rph4nt0m’ ) was arrested in Texas in December 2024. He pleaded guilty in February 2025 to […]
Ryuk ransomware member sentenced to 24 months in prison
An Armenian man was sentenced to 24 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for hacking U.S. companies and encrypting their systems in Ryuk ransomware attacks. 35-year-old Karen Serobovich Vardanyan (also known online as “Maneeken” or “Karl Lagerfeld”), who specialized in gaining initial access to corporate networks, pleaded guilty in July after being […]
68-year-old imprisoned after making $1.3 million by pirating IPTV services
A 68-year-old has been sentenced in the U.K. to more than six years in prison for operating an illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service that generated £980,812 ($1.3 million) over three years. An investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police found that Milan Ibrahim ran a “sophisticated […]
Data analyst sent to prison for stealing data, extorting employer
A former data analyst contractor for Brightly Software has been sentenced to two years in prison for targeting his employer in a $2.5 million extortion scheme. Brightly is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company formerly known as SchoolDude, which was acquired by Siemens in August 2022. Brightly employs over 700 people and provides asset management and maintenance software to […]
Member of The Com sent to prison for blackmail, sextortion
A member of “The Com,” a loose-knit online cybercrime collective that targets children and teenagers, has been sentenced to two years in prison for blackmail and sextortion offenses against nearly 120 victims worldwide. 20-year-old Justin Swaddle from Leeds (known as ‘Epstein’, ‘Rugen’ and ‘Moscow’ on Snapchat, Telegram, and Discord) was first arrested in October 2023 […]
Ransom Cartel ransomware creator sentenced to 16 years in prison
Maksim Silnikau, the creator and administrator of the Ransom Cartel ransomware operation, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in ransomware attacks against at least 18 companies worldwide. The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that the 40-year-old Belarusian national was sentenced for conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, conspiracy […]
Man gets six years for hacking 750 women’s Snapchat accounts
An Illinois man was sentenced on Tuesday to 76 months in prison and three years of supervised release for hacking the Snapchat accounts of over 750 women to steal nude photos, which he later traded or sold online. After being charged in December, 26-year-old defendant Kyle Svara admitted in February to having used various social engineering tactics to phish […]
Ryuk ransomware member pleads guilty in the US, faces 15 years in prison
A 34-year-old Armenian man has pleaded guilty to hacking U.S. companies and deploying the infamous Ryuk ransomware to encrypt their systems. Karen Serobovich Vardanyan was extradited to the United States after being arrested in Kyiv in April 2025 for providing initial access to corporate networks. According to court documents, Vardanyan helped deploy Ryuk ransomware on the networks […]
Poland busts SIM-swapping gang tied to millions in crypto theft
Authorities in Poland have arrested four members of an organized cybercrime group accused of breaching telecommunications partners and hijacking email accounts to carry out SIM-swapping attacks. The operation was carried out by the Polish Cybercrime Bureau (CBZC) with support from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the United States. According to investigators, the suspects […]