US authorities have brought charges against Russian and Israeli citizen Rostislav Panev, who was allegedly one of the key developers in the group of cybercriminals responsible for the distribution of the LockBit ransomware virus. Panev, 51, was arrested in Israel in August and is now awaiting extradition to the United States.
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According to the US Department of Justice, Panev played an important role in the activities of LockBit from its creation in 2019 until at least February 2024. During this time, LockBit became one of the most active and dangerous groups of cybercriminals – extortionists, whose victims were more than 2,500 individuals and organizations in 120 countries, including 1,800 in the United States. The virus infected systems of small businesses, multinational corporations, hospitals, schools, critical infrastructure and government agencies. The group received at least $500 million from victims; the total damage from its actions amounts to billions.
Panev is accused of developing malicious code and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for LockBit to operate. On his computer, law enforcement officers found credentials for the administrator of a repository on the darknet with the LockBit source code and tools for organizing attacks. The detainee reportedly admitted that he was engaged in programming and consulting activities at LockBit, and created code to disable anti-virus protection, spread the virus across local networks and print ransom letters on all available printers. From June 2022 to February 2024, Panev received about $10,000 worth of cryptocurrency transfers each month—about $230,000 in total, court documents say.
In February, law enforcement agencies in several countries conducted an operation that disrupted the LockBit infrastructure. Seven alleged members have now been charged in connection with the group in the District of New Jersey. The main developer and creator of the LockBit group is considered to be a native of Voronezh, Dmitry Khoroshev – a reward of up to $10 million is promised for information that will lead to his arrest; American authorities promise to pay up to $5 million for information about other LockBit participants.
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