U.S. Attorney’s Office announces charges for LockBit ransomware developer

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey March 13 announced charges for Rostislav Panev, a dual Russian and Israeli national, for his alleged role as a developer of the LockBit ransomware group.

Panev has been active with the group since its inception in or around 2019 through at least February 2024, DOJ said.

LockBit attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries, including 1,800 in the U.S. The group's victims included hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations and critical infrastructure, among others. LockBit members extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from victims and caused billions of dollars in other losses.

“The AHA has been tracking the impact to U.S. hospitals caused by the notorious Russian-speaking LockBit ransomware group for several years,” said John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “Their numerous attacks have caused significant disruption and delay to health care delivery, posing a risk to patient and community safety. The administration, FBI and international partners should be commended for their aggressive global pursuit of the leaders and participants in this dangerous criminal organization. Significant cooperation by victims with law enforcement helped enable this operation.”

The U.S. Department of State is also offering rewards up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of any individual participating in LockBit.

“This type of ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of nation’ approach is essential to deter future ransomware attacks,” Riggi said. 
 
For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at jriggi@aha.org. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.