Ukrainian National Pleads Guilty in Nefilim Ransomware Conspiracy

Ukrainian man pleads guilty in United States to deploying Nefilim ransomware in global extortion scheme targeting companies across multiple countries.

A Ukrainian national has pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiracy to commit computer fraud in connection with the deployment of the Nefilim ransomware against corporate computer networks in the United States and other countries.

Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, 35, of Barcelona, Spain, admitted that he conspired with others to use the ransomware to damage victim systems and extort payments from companies targeted in the campaign.

Prosecutors say Stryzhak was given access to the Nefilim ransomware code in June 2021 by the administrators of the ransomware in exchange for 20% of any proceeds generated from ransom demands.

Using his account on the online Nefilim “panel,” he and co‑conspirators researched prospective victims, including by pulling information on company size, revenue, and contact details from public online databases before launching ...