Canadian ransomware negotiator arrested amid FBI hacker crackdown

By Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens

WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (Reuters) – A Canadian ransomware negotiator was arrested Thursday and faces unspecified extortion charges, according to court documents, prison records and a person familiar with the matter, as the FBI cracks down on a hacking group that stole information about its employees.

Edward Dubrovsky faces charges of conspiracy to “threaten to impair the confidentiality of information with intent to extort money” and “interference with commerce,” according to court documents filed with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which covers Philadelphia. 

The records, which are partially sealed, provide conflicting spellings of his last name — “Dobrovsky” or “Dobrosky” — and do not identify his age, profession, or employer. A person briefed on the matter said the person was Canadian cybersecurity executive Edward Dubrovsky.

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia did not return repeated messages seeking comment about the discrepancies. Attempts to reach Dubrovsky and his attorneys were unsuccessful. Repeated attempts to reach the company displayed on Dubrovsky’s LinkedIn profile, CyberSteward, were similarly unsuccessful. 

CyberSteward advertises itself online as specializing in “threat actor engagement, cyber-extortions, complex negotiations, and settlement facilitation.” On LinkedIn, Dubrovsky presents himself as a specialist in the process of negotiating with cybercriminals over ransom payments.

Electronic wallet records leaked in 2010 and preserved by dark-web intelligence firm District 4 Labs identify Dubrovsky as a resident of Richmond Hill, north of Toronto, and put his current age at 54. Federal prison records show that a 54-year-old named Edward Dubrovsky is currently being detained at a federal detention center in Philadelphia.

News of Dubrovsky’s arrest was earlier reported by Politico and independent journalist Brian Krebs.

The arrest comes as the Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading a global crackdown on the hacking group ShinyHunters, which rattled the bureau last month by stealing information on what it said was nearly every FBI employee.

When Reuters asked the FBI about Dubrovsky’s arrest, it referred the news agency to FBI Director Kash Patel’s statement on Friday revealing that the bureau had arrested a “suspected co-conspirator of the ShinyHunters group” and declined further comment. 

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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