Two American men have pleaded guilty to using ransomware to attack multiple victims, with the ransom amounting to approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Southern District of Florida federal court has accepted the guilty pleas of two American men. They admitted to using the ALPHV (BlackCat) ransomware to attack multiple U.S. victims between April and December 2023, and to disrupt interstate business activities through extortion. Court documents show that the two men and a co-conspirator paid 20% of the ransom to the ALPHV BlackCat administrators in exchange for access to the ransomware platform, and successfully extorted approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin from one victim. Both defendants work in the cybersecurity industry. They each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 12, 2026.