The US Department of State is offering a reward of up to US$15 million for information relating to the Russia-based ransomware group LockBit.
The sizeable reward is broken into two, with $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of anyone holding a "key leadership position" with Lockbit, and $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of anyone associated with the ransomware group.
The announcement comes after an international operation led by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) and the FBI led to the arrest of Russian nationals and members of the Lockbit ransomware gang, Artur Sungatov and Ivan Gennadievich Kondratiev aka “Bassterlord”, earlier this week.
At the time of the arrests, websites used by Lockbit were taken over by numerous global law enforcement agencies, including the NCA's Cyber Division, US Department of Justice, and FBI.
"We have hacked the hackers," said NCA Director General, Graeme Biggar, after the agencies also used Lockbit's website to release data about the group itself.
Lockbit has wreaked havoc since early 2020, with more than 2,000 attacks executed against victims around the world, netting in excess of US$144 million in ransom payments.
