A former ransomware negotiator, Angelo Martino, pleaded guilty to conspiring with the BlackCat/ALPHV group to extort U.S. companies in 2023 by leaking confidential negotiation and insurance details from his incident response firm. Law enforcement has seized roughly $10 million in assets, co-conspirators have also pleaded guilty, and experts urge strict separation of negotiation, payment, and response roles to prevent insider abuse. #BlackCat #ChangeHealthcare
Keypoints
- Angelo Martino admitted providing BlackCat attackers with confidential negotiation and insurance details from his employer.
- Martino conspired with Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin to deploy BlackCat ransomware against multiple U.S. victims in 2023.
- The group extorted at least one victim for approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin and laundered their share.
- Authorities have seized about $10 million in assets from Martino, and all three defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
- Security experts recommend separating negotiation, payment, and response roles and enforcing least privilege for third parties.
Read More: https://www.darkreading.com/insider-threats/ransomware-negotiator-pleads-guilty-blackcat-scheme