Russian Access Broker Jailed for Facilitating Ransomware Attacks Targeting U.S. Companies

Aleksei Volkov, a 26-year-old Russian national and initial access broker, was extradited to the U.S., pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, and was sentenced to 81 months in prison for selling unauthorized access to corporate networks to ransomware affiliates. His activity exploited unpatched vulnerabilities, facilitated double-extortion ransomware attacks that caused over $9M in actual losses and $24M in intended damages, resulted in $9.1M restitution, and led to permanent seizure of his computer equipment.