Romanian Netwalker ransomware affiliate sentenced to 20 years in prison

Daniel Christian Hulea, a Romanian affiliate of the NetWalker ransomware operation, was extradited to the U.S., pleaded guilty to computer fraud and wire fraud conspiracies, and was sentenced to 20 years while ordered to pay restitution and forfeit roughly $21.5M; the report contextualizes NetWalker as a Ransomware-as-a-Service that extorted hundreds of victims across critical sectors and notes links between NetWalker code and later Alpha ransomware activity.