Canadian Govt employee accused of crypto-ransomware scheme to face trial in US court

Vachon Desjardins accused of being involved in a number of ransomware attacks related to crypto; extradited to the US for judgment

Finally, the person allegedly involved in a series of crypto-related attacks for ransomware was extradited. Man goes by Sebastian Vachon Desjardins, a government employee in Canada who is to face judgment in the United States. 

Sebastian worked at Public works and Government Services in Canada as an IT consultant. He believed carrying out the attacks led to more than $28 billion worth of bitcoin being paid by individuals and enterprises that were targeted throughout America. Now that he was judicially transferred to the US last Wednesday, he faces multiple charges for alleged participation with ransomware group Net Walker. 

Net Walker, also known as Mailto, is among the most hazardous and dangerous ransomware firms. More often, the enterprise employs bad actors throughout the world to engage them in ransomware attacks against numerous companies and individuals. In return for their services, participants in ransomware activities get a piece of the amount procured through ransomware by Net Walker once victims make the payments to them. 

One of the well-known targets of Net Walker was the University of San Francisco, which was targeted in June 2020. The university then had to pay more than $1 million to regain its private data access that Net Walker encrypted. 

It’s also believed that the group repeatedly targeted the Argentine immigration agency between 2019 and 2021. Those attacks finally led to ransomware payments of more than $46 million as per the Chainalysis blockchain firm’s data. 

Vachon Desjardins was initially arrested in early 2021 by Canadian law enforcement. The arrest was performed as an international effort to take down the ransomware clan Net Walker. Authorities who arrested the Canadian government employee searched his house in Quebec, Canada, and found 719 bitcoin units valued at more than $28 million at the time. Apart from these, the belongings of Vachon, $79,000 in Canadian currency, were recovered by authorities. 

During all this, the United States and Belgium collaborated to take down a website that Net Walker owned. The website was alleged to be used for publishing the stolen data. 

After the court procedure, Vachon Desjardins was sentenced to seven years in jail in Canada. He pled guilty for five separate charges related to computer data theft, crypto ransom payments, and extortion, although his actions didn’t stop there. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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