US Launches Global Action Against NetWalker

The United States Department of Justice has launched a global law enforcement action against a cyber-criminal gang that has made millions by selling ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS).

A coordinated international law enforcement action to disrupt NetWalker was announced by the Department yesterday.

NetWalker ransomware has claimed numerous victims, including companies, municipalities, hospitals, law enforcement departments, emergency services, school districts, colleges, and universities. In June last year, the University of California San Francisco admitted paying $1.14m to recover important academic work stored on some of its School of Medicine servers that had been encrypted by NetWalker. 

“This action reflects the resolve of the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida to target and disrupt sophisticated, international cybercrime schemes,” said US Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. 

“While these individuals believe they operate anonymously in the digital space, we have the skill and tenacity to identify and prosecute these actors to the full extent of the law and seize their criminal proceeds.”

According to court documents, NetWalker operates a RaaS model featuring “developers” and “affiliates” who split ransom payments made by victims.  

While developers are responsible for creating and updating the ransomware and making it available to affiliates, affiliates are tasked with identifying and attacking high-value victims with the malware.

The NetWalker action includes charges against Canadian national Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins of Gatineau, Ottawa, in relation to ransomware attacks that allegedly netted NetWalker at least $27.6m.

The action also includes the J ..

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