Ontario man arrested in US for alleged ransomware crime

A Russian-Canadian man from Ontario has been detained by police awaiting extradition to the United States on suspicion of participating in a global ransomware campaign, the US Department of Justice said.

Mikhail Vasilyev, a 33-year-old from Bradford, Ontario, sent a ransom demand in connection with his role in LockBit’s global ransomware scheme by intentionally damaging a protected computer, according to the agency. has been charged with conspiracy to

In court documents, the agency described LockBit as a variant of ransomware that first emerged around January 2020, and has since become one of the most active and destructive campaigns in the world, spreading across the United States and abroad. It has been deployed to at least 1,000 victims.

LockBit demands a ransom of at least $100 million and claims to have extorted tens of millions of dollars from victims.

According to it, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating LockBit around March 2020.

Vasiliev faces up to five years in prison if convicted.