LockBit suspect's arrest sheds more light on 'trustworthy' gang

FBI agents have arrested a Russian man suspected of being part of the Lockbit ransomware gang. An unsealed complaint alleges the 20-year-old was an Apple fanboy, an online gambler, and scored 80 percent of at least one ransom payment given to the criminals. Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, 20, of the Chechen Republic, was to …

[TheMaskedMan]

"[Y]ou can also read about us on the internet, we are the oldest Ransomware group, we have the biggest reputation for trust, and we always keep our word!"

Oh well, that's ok then. Pleasure doing business with you!

Clearly these villains have grasped the importance of a trustworthy image. Still, I think I'd be just a teensy bit sceptical all the same. Just because they haven't yet published data after payment doesn't mean they never will. It would make sense for them to retain copies, just in case anyone tried to get clever and set the cops on them; maybe some kind of automatic publication in the event that they don't check in with a server every few weeks, say.

It won't help his case any, of course, but he's looking at 20+ years anyway. Might help to pass the time a bit, and as one of their victims I would be very concerned that they might do just that.

[Anonymous Coward]

Worst crime

I think being described as an "Apple Fanboy" is his worst crime ;-)

[Anonymous Coward]

Amazingly overconfident about basing his operation in Arizona. Because zero state income tax?

[Doctor Syntax]

Hmmm. It says he "consented" to an interview in Arizona. It doesn't say where he was based only that he's from the Chechen Republic. Did he suddenly find himself in Arizona having intended to be somewhere else? You'd expect him to want to avoid the US or anywhere within extradition treaty range.

[Anonymous Coward]

"... submitted to a voluntary interview in Arizona"

So you think he might have been taken to Arizona involuntarily, (or maybe his flight to Disneyland was diverted by the FBI), and then submitted to a voluntary interview once he got there? That sounds ... possible. Looking forward to finding out more.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "... submitted to a voluntary interview in Arizona"

Amazing how 'eager' you can be to be 'interviewed' on a purely voluntary basis, of course, when someone is tapping your knuckles with a ballpein hammer !!!

..... [KGB Interview Techniques Vol 1 circa 1957]

:)

[doublelayer]

"Amazingly overconfident about basing his operation in Arizona. Because zero state income tax?"

Probably not, as the internet tells me that Arizona taxes individual income at rates from 2.59-8% and corporate income at 4.9%. Also, although the press release and the complaint don't indicate how Arizona got involved, it does identify his residence as being in Russia. Perhaps he got tired of the winter and went somewhere warm, picking the wrong place.

[martinusher]

Deserves what he gets

I am no fan of cybercrooks, "ethical" or not, but this guy is as dumb as it gets. Rule One of dealing with law enforcement is that there is no such thing as a casual conversation. They are not your friends, they are not interested in your welfare or happiness, they're only interested in a result.

Given the current political climate it makes no sense him being in the US -- just being here is grounds enough for suspicion in the eyes of the authorities (both here and there, I'd guess). Just getting a visa would be difficult enough.

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless not until

.. the aim of justice is to establish guilt or not.

Doesn’t mean he isn’t but it still has to follow due process.

[rafff]

Re: Unless not until

AIUI "due process", for what it is worth, in the the USA is only guaranteed to citizens. He is not a citizen.

IANAL