U.S. prosecutors in New Jersey on Friday publicly announced charges against Rostislav Panev, 51, a dual Russian-Israeli national accused of being a key developer in the LockBit ransomware gang. Panev is currently in Israeli custody and faces extradition to the United States.
LockBit is one of the most prolific ransomware gangs, accused of launching crippling data-stealing cyberattacks at thousands of companies around the world, including the U.S., and thought to be responsible for at least $500 million in ransom payments alone. Authorities identified and seized LockBit’s infrastructure in a February takedown operation, but LockBit briefly bounced back as its leader, named by U.K. and U.S. authorities as Dmitry Khoroshev, remains at large.
Read more…
Source: TechCrunch News
Related:
- Iranian hacker group deploys malicious Snake game to target Egyptian and Israeli critical infrastructure
December 3, 2025
An Iranian-aligned hacking group tracked as ‘MuddyWater’ has dramatically shifted tactics in attacks against Israeli and Egyptian critical infrastructure. Previous campaigns by the group, observed by ESET Research, were characteristically noisy in their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) making them easily detectable. However, the group has begun employing a new backdoor deployed via the Fooder loader, ...
- Cyber Toufan leaks secret data on Iron Dome, Jericho missiles, and Australia’s Land 400 project
November 10, 2025
A hacking group believed to have ties to Iran has claimed responsibility for a massive cyberattack that exposed information linked to Australia’s $7 billion Land 400 defence program. The group, known as Cyber Toufan, says it accessed the data after breaching several Israeli defence companies. Cyber Toufan, a pro-Hamas group, shared the stolen material on Telegram. ...
- Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors
October 10, 2025
Israeli spyware maker NSO Group has confirmed to TechCrunch that a U.S. investment group has acquired the company. NSO spokesperson Oded Hershowitz told TechCrunch on Friday that “an American investment group has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership. ” Confirmation of the deal came soon after Israeli tech ...
- Microsoft terminates services for Israeli military after investigation into mass surveillance of Palestinians
September 25, 2025
Microsoft has terminated a set of services for the Israeli military after an investigation suggested Israel was using the company’s cloud computing technology for mass surveillance of Palestinians. In a statement posted the company’s blog, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company had “ceased and disabled a set of services to a unit within the Israel ...
- Israel: Dozens of actors fall victim to Iranian phishing attack
September 12, 2025
Dozens of Israeli actors have fallen victim to a phishing attack believed to originate from Iranian sources. According to a statement from the National Cyber Directorate, the actors were asked to submit filmed auditions and sensitive personal information—including photos of ID cards and passports—after receiving emails posing as a casting call for a new film by ...
- ICE reactivates contract with spyware maker Paragon
September 2, 2025
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract last year with Israeli spyware maker Paragon worth $2 million . Shortly after, the Biden administration put the contract under review, issuing a “stop work order,” to determine whether the contract complied with an executive order on commercial spyware, which restricts U.S. government agencies from using spyware ...

