Two U.S. cybersecurity professionals, Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin, admitted to their involvement in BlackCat ransomware attacks that extorted over $1.2 million from various companies in 2023. Despite their expertise in cybersecurity, they used their skills to conduct ransomware attacks, leading to federal charges that could result in lengthy prison sentences.

The US Treasury reported that ransomware payments reached over $4.5 billion from 2022 to 2024. The median payment increased from $124,097 in 2022 to $175,000 in 2023, with the financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors being the most targeted. Akira ransomware group led in incidents, while ALPHV/BlackCat received the highest payments.