Ex-ransomware negotiator admits involvement in multi-million dollar extortion scheme

Former DigitalMint ransomware negotiator Angelo Martino III has pleaded guilty after the Justice Department discovered he secretly worked with hackers, while pretending to help clients who were victims of ransomware groups, CyberScoop reports.

Martino and his co-conspirators extorted $75.3 million in ransom payments from victim companies using sensitive information such as their payment capacity and insurance coverage. He also confessed to working with Kevin Tyler Martin of DigitalMint and Ryan Clifford Goldberg of Sygnia to exploit other companies. Aside from secretly collaborating with the ALPHV/BlackCat cybercriminal group, Martion also shared negotiation strategies that helped attackers increase ransom demands and provided assistance during negotiations, leading to payments of $16.5 million, $6.1 million, and $213,000. He allegedly received a share of the proceeds. Authorities have since seized over $10 million in assets, and he is awaiting sentencing.

"The FBI works every day to dismantle the ransomware ecosystem. That includes apprehending key facilitators like Angelo Martino, who abused the trust placed in him as a private sector negotiator by collaborating with ransomware criminals," said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman.