A grand jury indictment in New Jersey charged Russian national Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev with orchestrating a litany of cyberattacks using LockBit, raking in over $100 million in ransom payments.
The U.S., UK, and Australia have sanctioned him as an alleged leader of the notorious LockBit ransomware group.
The DoJ indictment this week alleges that Khoroshev operated as the mastermind behind LockBit from its inception in September 2019 until May 2024, pocketing a sizable cut—typically 20 percent—of each ransom payment extorted from LockBit victims.
LockBit’s targets spanned individuals, small businesses, multinational corporations, hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law-enforcement agencies.
But amidst this tumultuous landscape, a particularly egregious instance emerged: an unnamed multinational aeronautical and defense corporation faced an “extremely large” ransom demand of $200 million. Later, it was revealed to be Boeing, the aerospace giant, which confirmed to CyberScoop its entanglement in the cyber nightmare but remained tight-lipped on further details.
Boeing encountered a ransomware attack in November 2023, leading to disruptions in its parts and distribution business. While the company assured the public that flight safety remained intact, the attackers “flew off” with a staggering 43 gigabytes of data, including backups from various Boeing systems.
Experts speculate that Lockbit’s exorbitant ransom demand to Boeing was more of a shot in the dark than a realistic expectation of payment.
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