Canadian Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for NetWalker Ransomware Attacks
A Canadian man, Sebastien Vachon–Desjardins, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $21.5 million for his involvement in the NetWalker ransomware attacks, as announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Public Affairs on Tuesday.
Vachon–Desjardins, 35, hailing from Gatineau, Quebec, was extradited to the United States in January this year under the extradition treaty between the two countries. Upon his arrest in Gatineau, Quebec, Canadian law enforcement officers conducted a search at his residence, where they seized $742,840 in Canadian currency and 719 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $21.8 million at the time of seizure and $14.4 million today.
US attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida expressed, “The defendant, in this case, used sophisticated technological means to exploit hundreds of victims in numerous countries at the height of an international health crisis,” alluding to the COVID–19 pandemic.
Furthermore, this case comes in the wake of a global crackdown on the NetWalker cyber–criminal gang by the US government in January 2021, where $454,000 in cryptocurrency from ransom payments was seized from victims of three separate NetWalker attacks.
Assistant attorney general Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s criminal division remarked, “The defendant identified and attacked high–value ransomware victims and profited from the chaos caused by encrypting and stealing the victims’ data. Today’s sentence demonstrates that ransomware actors will face significant consequences for their crimes.”
Special agent in charge, David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office, emphasized the bureau’s commitment to combatting cyber–threats, stating, “Our cyber task forces work vigorously to expose the cyber adversaries preying on United States citizens and bring them to justice.”
In a separate incident, the FBI recently apprehended a former US National Security Agency (NSA) employee for attempting to sell classified information to a foreign government.