A federal court in Brooklyn has sentenced Ukrainian national Artem Stryzhak to 70 months in prison for his part in ransomware conspiracies linked to the Nefilim and Hive operations, the United States Department of Justice has announced. Stryzhak pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to commit computer fraud, extortion and related activity in connection with computers. He was arrested in Spain in June 2024 and extradited to the United States in April 2025.

Hospitals and businesses targeted

Prosecutors said Stryzhak joined Nefilim as an affiliate in June 2021, paying the group's administrators 20 per cent of the ransom proceeds he collected in return for access to its ransomware code. He later became one of the earliest affiliates of Hive, which the Department of Justice says attacked about 1,500 victims worldwide, including hospitals, government bodies and businesses. The FBI put total losses from the groups at more than $100 million, and said the attacks disrupted patient care.

Co-conspirator still wanted

The sentence closes Stryzhak's own case, but investigators say their work continues. The Department of Justice said a reward of up to $11 million remains available for information leading to the arrest or conviction of alleged co-conspirator Volodymyr Tymoshchuk. Officials said the case showed that ransomware affiliates could be pursued across borders, even years after the attacks. No new exploitation was reported in this story: it concerns a court sentence, not a newly disclosed vulnerability.

Sources: The Register, Cybernoz, Asia News Today.