Judge Orders $2.8 Million In Restitution For Ransomware Victims

An Ontario Court has ordered a convicted cybercriminal to pay $2.8 million in restitution to eight victims of ransomware attacks, illustrating how costly these attacks can be to organizations across Canada and creating a glimmer of hope that some of these significant costs could be recoverable.

Earlier this year, the Ontario Court of Justice sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to carrying out ransomware attacks against 17 Canadian entities to seven years in prison. The Court also ordered the defendant to pay millions of dollars in restitution to eight of his victims.

Stolen Data "Would Fill an Entire Hockey Arena"

The defendant in this case was an affiliate of the Netwalker ransomware gang who allegedly received more than US$15 million in ransomware payments from victims around the world, according to information the RCMP received from the FBI.