Ransomware Negotiator Jailed for $75.3M BlackCat Extortion Plot
- Source
- CyberScoop
- Time
- 11:18 AM
- Weight
- 94/100
Angelo John Martino III, a former ransomware negotiator for the firm DigitalMint, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiring with the BlackCat ransomware group to extort $75.3 million from five U.S. companies. Entrusted to negotiate on behalf of victims in crisis, Martino instead operated as a "double agent," sharing confidential information such as insurance policy limits and internal negotiating positions with cybercriminals to maximize ransom payouts.
The victims, which included a nonprofit and a financial services firm, paid individual ransoms ranging from approximately $16.5 million to nearly $26.8 million. Beyond betraying his employer’s clients, Martino admitted to working with two other cybersecurity professionals to actively deploy BlackCat ransomware against five additional companies.