Two Russian nationals, Ruslan Astamirov and Mikhail Vasiliev, have pleaded guilty to their roles in a string of ransomware attacks carried out by the notorious hacking gang LockBit, which has targeted over 2,500 victims worldwide and extorted at least $500 million in ransom payments. The duo, who were affiliates of LockBit, admitted to deploying the ransomware variant, which first emerged in 2020 and has since become one of the most destructive in the world. Astamirov and Vasiliev face up to 25 and 45 years in prison, respectively, when they are sentenced in January. The guilty pleas mark a significant blow to LockBit, which has been disrupted by US and UK authorities in recent months.
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