The affair exposed a spectacular betrayal in the world of cybersecurity. Employee of a cybersecurity company, Angelo Martino was responsible for negotiate with cybercriminals on behalf of companies victims of ransomware.
Instead of defending their interests, he secretly communicated with the group’s attackers BlackCatalso known as ALPHV. He relayed information to them such as the limits of his clients’ insurance policies and their internal negotiation strategies. This collusion allowed the attackers to adjust their demands.
How could a negotiator orchestrate such a betrayal?
While conducting formal negotiations for his clients, Angelo Martino used secret communication channels, such as Tox encrypted messaging and an intermediary chat tab, to advise BlackCat’s attackers.
Prosecutors revealed exchanges where he told the attackers to “ continue to refuse our offers ” while promising to inform them of the maximum amount that the victim was willing to pay.
Through this negotiation manipulation, five of its clients, including a nonprofit and a financial services company, paid a total of more than $75 million in ransoms between April and September 2023.
For this double gamethe United States Department of Justice pointed the finger at greed as the sole motivation, and while businesses were nearly destroyed. Angelo Martino received a share of the ransoms in cryptocurrencies, i.e. millions of dollars.
A BlackCat affiliate with two accomplices
Angelo Martino’s betrayal did not end there. He also conspired with two other cybersecurity professionals, a negotiator and an incident response manager. They got a affiliate account with BlackCatallowing them to deploy the ransomware themselves against other companies.
The trio carried out attacks against five new victims, succeeding in extorting $1.3 million from a medical device company. His accomplices were also convicted and each received four years in prison in May. Aged 41, Angelo Martino has just been sentenced to 70 months in prison.
To date, authorities have seized $10 million in assets belonging to Angelo Martino, including cryptocurrencies, two homes, several vehicles, a food truck and a luxury fishing boat.
