Ex-Negotiator Pleads Guilty in BlackCat Ransomware Plot

A former ransomware negotiator from Florida pleaded guilty this week to conspiring with members of the BlackCat ransomware group to launch attacks and extort payments from U.S. companies, including some he was hired to represent, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

Angelo Martino, 41, of Land O'Lakes, Florida, admitted to abusing his position at DigitalMint, a cyber incident response firm, to share confidential details with BlackCat affiliates starting in April 2023. While assigned to negotiate on behalf of five victims across industries such as hospitality, financial services, retail, medical, and nonprofit sectors, Martino provided attackers with sensitive information, including insurance policy limits and internal negotiation strategies. This allowed the cybercriminals to demand higher ransoms, which the victims ultimately paid, totaling around 75 million across the cases, according to court documents.

Martino collaborated with two other cybersecurity professionals: Kevin Martin, also a former DigitalMint negotiator from Texas, and Ryan Goldberg, a former incident response manager at Sygnia from Georgia. The trio deployed BlackCat ransomware, also known as ALPHV,...