An ex-Canadian government IT worker named Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins from Quebec, Canada has been guilty of conducting high-level cybercrime along with a pro-Russian hacker group. The 34-year-old Sebastien has admitted that he was in charge of hacking with the NetWalker ransomware, which is a Window’s specific ransomware that encrypts and exfiltrates data and leaves a ransom note to the compromised organization.
The NetWalker ransomware group has conducted several cyber attacks on companies, municipals, hospitals, schools, and universities. Sebastien was arrested by the police for possessing $27 million in Bitcoin. He has compromised 17 Canadian companies and several others around the world between April and December 2020. However, he was responsible for identifying and hacking high-value victims, he was conscious of not attacking Russian computer systems and digital devices of other Soviet countries.
According to the US cybercrime investigation agency, the NetWalker group had almost 100 members actively working who managed to extract $40 million from victims. They Extracted almost $1.1 million from a US university that was engaged in developing COVID-19 vaccines. The NetWalker group carried out a cyber attack in September 2020 on the Dusseldorf University clinic that resulted in the death of a patient.
The NetWalker’s ransom note to the victim after encrypting their devices reads, “Our encryption algorithms are very strong and your files are very well protected, the only way to get your files back is to co-operate with us and get the decrypted program. For us this is just business.”
According to the police, dozens of storage devices, 719 Bitcoin worth approximately C$35 million, and C$790,000 in cash were extricated from Mr. Vachon-desjardins’ house. He was arrested in Canada in January 2021 following a US investigation of a cybercrime group. It is reported he could face 10 years in prison for being guilty.
