Foreign National Admits Guilt in $15,000,000 Bitcoin Ransomware Attacks on U.S. Firms
A foreign national has admitted his central role in ransomware attacks that disrupted businesses across the United States. The defendant, extradited from abroad, entered the plea in federal court on charges of conspiracy and computer fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors linked him directly to the Ryuk ransomware strain used in operations against U.S. companies during 2019 and 2020. Authorities described the scheme as a coordinated effort that encrypted victim systems and demanded payments for decryption keys.
Vardanyan worked with co-conspirators to attack a company in Michigan that paid 200 bitcoin—over $1.1 million at the time of payment—to restore access to their network. They also attacked a company in Wilsonville, Oregon, and in February 2020 targeted a school in Texas. The group illegally accessed computer networks, deploying ransomware on hundreds of compromised servers and workstations. They are alleged to have received approximately 1,610 bitcoins in ransom payments, valued at over $15 million at the time of payment.
The guilty plea resolves the case without a trial and highlights ongoing international efforts to hold ransomware operators accountable.