GoKawiilArmenian national gets 24 months for role in Ryuk ransomware attacks
Karen Serobovich Vardanyan, 35, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release for breaching U.S. corporate networks and deploying Ryuk ransomware between March 2019 and June 2020. He pleaded guilty in July after being extradited from Kyiv following an April 2025 arrest, with prosecutors saying he and co-conspirators collected roughly 1,610 bitcoins in ransom payments, worth over $15 million at the time, from victims including a Michigan company, a Texas school and an Oregon technology firm.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The case closes a chapter on one of ransomware's most damaging early operations, whose Wizard Spider group later evolved into Conti before that gang itself fractured in 2022. The sentencing shows law enforcement can pursue individual specialists—like Vardanyan, who focused on gaining initial network access—years after a ransomware operation shuts down, which could serve as a deterrent to others in similar roles.
- Vardanyan received 24 months in prison plus 3 years of supervised release for Ryuk ransomware attacks.
- Prosecutors say the group collected about 1,610 bitcoins, valued over $15 million, from victims including firms in Michigan, Texas and Oregon.
- Ryuk's operators later moved on to Conti ransomware, which disbanded in 2022 after an internal leak.
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Published there as: “Ryuk ransomware member sentenced to 24 months in prison”
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