A leader of one of the world's most notorious cyber crime groups has been unmasked and subsequently sanctioned by the UK, US and Australia.
Russian national Dmitry Khoroshev aka LockBitSupp, the administrator and developer of the LockBit ransomware group, was out-ed thanks to the efforts of a taskforce of international agencies, among them the US Department of Justice, FBI, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and the Australian Federal Police.
Khoroshev, who was confident enough to offer a $10 million reward to anyone able to reveal his identity, now faces travel bans and asset freezes, including all property and interests in property in the US or in the possession or control of US persons to be blocked.
While unmasked, Khoroshev still remains at large and the US has also put up its own $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Khoroshev's unveiling is part of a far-reaching investigation into the LockBit group, which was infiltrated by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) in February this year. The actions of the NCA compromised Lockbit, after the NCA took control of the group's network and services, including its dark web leak site.
Data uncovered by the NCA showed that between June 2022 and February 2024, 7,000+ attacks were built using Lockbit's services. More than 2,500 decryption keys are now in possession of the NCA and its international partners and the process of contacting LockBit victims is ongoing.
“These sanctions are hugely significant and show that there is no hiding place for cyber criminals like Dmitry Khoroshev. He was certain he could remain anonymous, but he was wrong," said NCA Director General Graeme Biggar. “Today’s announcement puts another huge nail in the LockBit coffin and our investigation into them continues."
Lockbit ranks as one of the most lucrative ransomware groups and the estimated amount it raked in varies from half a billion to several billion dollars.
