Nefilim Ransomware Affiliate Pleads Guilty

A Ukrainian national, Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate Nefilim ransomware as an affiliate who targeted large corporations (recommended $200M+ revenue) across the US, Canada and Australia, using open-source databases to select victims, stealing data and encrypting systems for ransom and threatening publication on a leak site; he faces up to 10 years and will be sentenced in May 2026, while at least one suspected administrator, Volodymyr Tymoshchuk, remains at large with up to $11M reward offered.