WASHINGTON: The United States unsealed an indictment on Tuesday charging two Russian nationals with deploying Lockbit ransomware against companies and groups around the world, the Department of Justice announced.
The indictment was made public as US, UK and other international law enforcement partners gathered in London to announce the disruption of the notorious Lockbit cybercrime gang, which has targeted over 2,000 victims worldwide, received more than $120 million in ransom payments and demanded hundreds of millions of dollars, the department said.
The UK National Crime Agency Cyber Division, with the US Department of Justice, the FBI and other law enforcement seized control of websites used by Lockbit in a rare international operation, the gang and US and UK authorities said.
“Working alongside partners in the United Kingdom and around the world, we have now destroyed the online backbone of the Lockbit group, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs,” Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “But our work does not stop here: together with our partners we are turning the tables on Lockbit — providing decryption keys, unlocking victim data and pursuing Lockbit’s criminal affiliates around the globe.”
Obtained in New Jersey, the unsealed indictment charges Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with using Lockbit ransomware to target victims in manufacturing, logistics, insurance and other companies in five states and Puerto Rico, as well as in semiconductor and other industries around the world.
Additional criminal charges against Kondratyev were unsealed on Tuesday related to his use of ransomware in 2020 against a victim in California, the Justice department said.
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US indicts two Russian nationals in Lockbit cybercrime gang bust
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US indicts two Russian nationals in Lockbit cybercrime gang bust
- The UK National Crime Agency Cyber Division, with the US Department of Justice, the FBI and other law enforcement seized control of websites used by Lockbit
- “We have now destroyed the online backbone of the Lockbit group,” Deputy US Attorney General Lisa
Robotics build path from rural Kenya to world stage
LAIKIPIA: Jeremiah Kithinji had never touched a computer before he finished high school. A decade later, he is teaching robotics, and even took a team of rural Kenyans to the World Robotics Olympiad in Singapore.
In a classroom in Laikipia county — a sparsely populated grasslands region of northern Kenya known for its rhinos and cheetahs — pupils are busy snapping together wheels, motors and sensors to assemble a robot.
Guiding them is Kithinji, 27, who runs a string of robotics clubs in the area that have taken some of his pupils far beyond the rural landscapes outside.
In November, he took a team of three to Singapore for the Olympiad, where he also served as the competition’s first Kenyan judge. They presented a simulated space mission with a robot that could launch a model satellite and collect space debris.
Singapore was an eye-opening experience for Kithinji, who was educated in a modest rural school without access to computers.
“I felt this country is so advanced. Interacting with the people showed me how much they care about their nation, and it made me think about how I can instil the same mindset in my students,” he told AFP.
Kenya has pushed science and engineering in its latest curriculum, but lacks the resources for robotics training.
The clubs in Laikipia, which reach around 200 pupils, are funded by a US nonprofit, Science in a Suitcase, which helped train Kithinji and funded the trip to Singapore.
They have inspired Natalia Wangari, 14.
“In the future, when I become a neurosurgeon, I won’t have to perform every surgery myself. I can build a robot that acts as a doctor. I’ll just need to code it, and it will do the surgery itself,” she told AFP.
- Robots adapted to Kenya -
Kithinji hopes robotics can provide solutions to some of Kenya’s specific challenges.
He previously coached a team at the African Olympiad in South Africa in 2024, where they designed agricultural robots that can operate farming tools and irrigate fields, and sees particular benefits for rural hospitals — assisting in surgeries and delivering medication.
He dreams of more support and collaborators to expand his robotics program across the country.
For now, his pupils are focused on winning a place at the next Olympiad, in Puerto Rico, and they are brainstorming ideas for this year’s theme: robots meet culture.
But whatever happens, he is happy they are taking control of modern technology.
“The skills these kids are developing — critical thinking, problem-solving and technical skills... are the future skills our country needs,” he said.
“I want our kids to create the technology, not just consume it.”
In a classroom in Laikipia county — a sparsely populated grasslands region of northern Kenya known for its rhinos and cheetahs — pupils are busy snapping together wheels, motors and sensors to assemble a robot.
Guiding them is Kithinji, 27, who runs a string of robotics clubs in the area that have taken some of his pupils far beyond the rural landscapes outside.
In November, he took a team of three to Singapore for the Olympiad, where he also served as the competition’s first Kenyan judge. They presented a simulated space mission with a robot that could launch a model satellite and collect space debris.
Singapore was an eye-opening experience for Kithinji, who was educated in a modest rural school without access to computers.
“I felt this country is so advanced. Interacting with the people showed me how much they care about their nation, and it made me think about how I can instil the same mindset in my students,” he told AFP.
Kenya has pushed science and engineering in its latest curriculum, but lacks the resources for robotics training.
The clubs in Laikipia, which reach around 200 pupils, are funded by a US nonprofit, Science in a Suitcase, which helped train Kithinji and funded the trip to Singapore.
They have inspired Natalia Wangari, 14.
“In the future, when I become a neurosurgeon, I won’t have to perform every surgery myself. I can build a robot that acts as a doctor. I’ll just need to code it, and it will do the surgery itself,” she told AFP.
- Robots adapted to Kenya -
Kithinji hopes robotics can provide solutions to some of Kenya’s specific challenges.
He previously coached a team at the African Olympiad in South Africa in 2024, where they designed agricultural robots that can operate farming tools and irrigate fields, and sees particular benefits for rural hospitals — assisting in surgeries and delivering medication.
He dreams of more support and collaborators to expand his robotics program across the country.
For now, his pupils are focused on winning a place at the next Olympiad, in Puerto Rico, and they are brainstorming ideas for this year’s theme: robots meet culture.
But whatever happens, he is happy they are taking control of modern technology.
“The skills these kids are developing — critical thinking, problem-solving and technical skills... are the future skills our country needs,” he said.
“I want our kids to create the technology, not just consume it.”
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