Conti Ransomware Hacker Sentenced

Ukrainian IT expert Oleksii Lytvynenko was sentenced to four years in prison by a US court for his role in the notorious cybercrime group Conti.The 39-year-old helped one of the world's most dangerous ransomware gangs by finding security flaws in company networks, helping hackers break in, and deploying malicious software. In total, he directly took part in attacking at least 12 companies, freezing their systems and stealing sensitive data.Record Ransoms in BitcoinThe Conti group was famous for its aggressive extortion tactics: encrypting a company's data and threatening to leak it online unless a ransom was paid. Victims targeted by the network paid a total of over $150 million in Bitcoin to try and get their files back.Along with his prison sentence, Lytvynenko was ordered to pay back over $2 million earned from his illegal work. It's a strong reminder that even when hiding behind screens and cryptocurrency, cybercriminals can't run from the law forever.