US ransomware negotiator sentenced to prison for hacking conspiracy

Angelo Martino has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for conspiring with hackers to deploy ransomware during his job as a ransomware negotiator for a U.S. cybersecurity company, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed on Thursday.

Martino is the third person to be jailed for the scheme, following the earlier incarceration of cybersecurity professionals Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg. Prosecutors say the trio worked together to deploy the BlackCat ransomware against companies in the United States throughout 2023 — BlackCat is a ransomware-as-a-service operation that lets independent hackers, known as affiliates, rent access to file-encrypting malware in exchange for a cut of the profits. In one attack, the cyber professionals moonlighting as criminals extorted a company for about $1.2 million, laundering the funds before splitting them three ways.

The U.S. government seized more than $10 million worth of cryptocurrency and assets from Martino. Martino allegedly bought these assets, which include a food truck and a luxury fishing boat, with money stolen in the hacks.

The case highlights a rare instance of cybersecurity professionals working with malicious hackers rather than against them. BlackCat, the ransomware-as-a-service operation the trio used, was also behind the February 2024 hack of U.S. health technology giant Change Healthcare, which stole highly sensitive medical and billing data of more than 192 million people in America.

Why it matters

The investigation highlights a rare and highly damaging scenario where the very cybersecurity professionals hired to negotiate with extortionists are secretly working in league with them — undermining the trust that companies place in the negotiators and insurers meant to limit the damage from ransomware attacks.