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ransomware
Feds Suspect Ransom Negotiator Ran ShinyHunters Extortion Site
Federal investigators have identified executives at ransomware negotiation firms with unusually close ties to ShinyHunters, a major cybercriminal group that has extorted over $70 million this year. One executive, Canadian cybersecurity professional Edward Dubrovsky, was arrested in October 2026 and allegedly helped operate ShinyHunters' victim extortion website, while also failing to inform the FBI that the group had stolen highly sensitive data from FBI servers. The investigation uncovered potential conflicts of interest within ransomware response firms, including percentage-based fee structures that incentivize negotiators to facilitate higher ransom payments rather than minimize them.
Why it matters: Incident response and insurance professionals must evaluate whether their negotiation partners have undisclosed financial incentives or ties to threat actors; ransomware victims and their counsel should scrutinize fees and fee structures to avoid inadvertently funding attackers or paying inflated ransoms through conflicted intermediaries.
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- First seen by Cybersecurity Tracker