Yanluowang initial access broker pleaded guilty to ransomware attacks

Aleksey Olegovich Volkov pleaded guilty to serving as an initial access broker for the Yanluowang ransomware operation that targeted at least eight U.S. companies between July 2021 and November 2022; investigators recovered chat logs, stolen credentials, victim data, and blockchain traces linking him to ransom payments totaling about $1.5M. He was arrested in Italy in January 2024, extradited to the U.S., faces multiple charges and up to 53 years in prison, and is ordered to pay over $9.1M in restitution; evidence also suggests potential links to other ransomware actors.