LockBit ransomware kingpin gets 4 years behind bars

A Canadian court sentenced 34-year-old Mikhail Vasiliev—an alleged administrator within the LockBit ransomware gang—to nearly four years in prison and ordered restitution to victims; he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of cyber-extortion, mischief, and weapons charges and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. Court documents showed police seized a “TARGETLIST,” Tor chat screenshots with LockBitSupp, deployment instructions, and Linux encryption source code. The article situates this case within broader law-enforcement action that has disrupted LockBit’s infrastructure (despite some resurgence), notes the gang has extorted roughly $120 million from over 2,000 victims since 2020, and states some key suspects remain at large.