- Two former cybersecurity professionals pleaded guilty to extortion attempts with ALPHV ransomware
- They extorted $1.2 million from a medical device company; other attempts failed
- Facing federal charges with possible 20-year prison sentences; sentencing set for March 12, 2026
The two cybersecurity experts accused of affiliating themselves with ransomware operators pleaded guilty to at least one successful extortion attempt, as well as a few failed ones.
In early November of this year, it emerged that three cybersecurity professionals were suspected of working as affiliates of the feared ALPHV (BlackCat) ransomware gang, deploying encryptors against multiple US organizations.
At the time, a US federal indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida alleged that two defendants, Ryan Clifford Goldberg of Georgia and Kevin Tyler Martin of Texas, along with a third accomplice, hacked into the company’s networks, stole data, encrypted it with ALPHV ransomware, and demanded cryptocurrency ransoms.
The indictment did not describe the two as cybersecurity professionals. However, local media said Martin worked at DigitalMint as a ransomware threat negotiator, while Goldberg was Sygnia’s incident response manager.
Both no longer work with these companies.
Sentence in March
Now, it appears the duo admitted to hacking a medical device company in 2023 and then extorting $1.2 million from it.
They also allegedly admitted to trying to extort a Maryland-based pharmaceutical company, a California doctor’s office for $5 million, a California engineering company for $1 million, and a Virginia drone manufacturer for $300,000. These attempts were unsuccessful.
“These defendants used their sophisticated cybersecurity training and experience to commit ransomware attacks, the same type of crime they should have been trying to stop,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Since the five companies were engaged in interstate commerce, the case falls under federal jurisdiction. The payments were allegedly laundered through multiple cryptocurrency wallets to hide their origins.
All three face a serious prison sentence. They are charged with “conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by racketeering,” “interference with electronic commerce by racketeering,” and “intentional damage to a protected computer.” The first two carry prison sentences of up to 20 years, while the third 10 years.
The sentence is scheduled for March 12, 2026.
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