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Ransomware & Malware SecurityWeek 3 weeks ago

US Court Sentences Armenian Man to Prison for Ryuk Ransomware Attacks

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CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: SecurityWeek
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Enterprise Perimeter & Network Defense
Intelligence Sector
Ransomware & Malware

Analyst Takeaway

"Karen Vardanyan, a 35-year-old Armenian national, has been sentenced to prison by a US court for his role in Ryuk ransomware attacks, the Justice Department announced this week. Vardanyan was charged by a grand jury in the United States in February 2024 with conspiracy, fraud, and extortion in connection with computers. He was arrested in Ukraine in April 2025 and extradited to the United States..."

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Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)
Hacker sentenced to prison

Karen Vardanyan, a 35-year-old Armenian national, has been sentenced to prison by a US court for his role in Ryuk ransomware attacks, the Justice Department announced this week.

Vardanyan was charged by a grand jury in the United States in February 2024 with conspiracy, fraud, and extortion in connection with computers. 

He was arrested in Ukraine in April 2025 and extradited to the United States in June 2025. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and computer fraud in July 2026. 

Vardanyan has now been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

Under federal law, time spent in pretrial detention is credited toward the prison term. Vardanyan has been in custody since his extradition, so he has already served a substantial portion of the 24-month sentence.

According to authorities, the Armenian man was involved in Ryuk ransomware attacks between March 2019 and June 2020. 

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Written By Eduard Kovacs

Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from SecurityWeek.

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