Ryuk ransomware operator sentenced to 2 years in prison

A U.S. Justice Department announcement states that Armenian national Karen Vardanyan was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to participating in Ryuk ransomware attacks in 2019–2020; prosecutors say Vardanyan and co-conspirators deployed Ryuk across hundreds of servers, received about 1,160 bitcoins (valued at over $15 million at the time) in ransom payments, and impacted victims including hospitals, utilities, schools, and private companies, with restitution and deportation to follow.