Ryuk Ransomware Member Pleads Guilty Over Attacks on U.S. Organizations

A reported Ryuk affiliate, Karen Serobovich Vardanyan, pleaded guilty in the U.S. for supplying initial access used in Ryuk ransomware attacks against American organizations from November 2019 to April 2020. The campaign encrypted hundreds of systems and extorted victims for roughly 1,610 BTC (over $15M at the time), with some victims paying large ransoms; Vardanyan was extradited from Ukraine, indicted in 2024, faces up to 15 years, agreed to pay $1.1M restitution, and researchers have linked Ryuk operators to professional laundering techniques involving intermediary wallets and exchanges.