A UK national has pled guilty and will be sent to prison for his involvement in the notorious hacker’s group “The Dark Overlord.” The organization breached and stole sensitive information from numerous companies and demanded the ransoms to be paid in Bitcoin.
The US Department of Justice announced yesterday that Nathan Wyatt, 39, has pled guilty to conspiring to commit aggravated identity theft and computer fraud. Consequently, he received a sentence to five years in federal prison and has to pay nearly $1.5 million in restitution.
According to the documents, Wyatt was an active member of the infamous “The Dark Overlord” hacker’s group. His responsibilities included initiating contact and handling the ransom negotiations.
The organization has been responsible for stealing tons of personal and client information from healthcare providers, accounting firms, etc. Bleeping Computers even reported that the group hacked Netflix in 2017.
“Nathan Wyatt used his technical skills to prey on Americans’ private data and exploited the sensitive nature of their medical and financial records for his own personal gain.
Today’s guilty plea and sentence demonstrate the department’s commitment to ensuring that hackers who seek to profit by illegally invading the privacy of Americans will be found and held accountable, no matter where they may be located.” – commented Acting Assistance Attorney General Brian Rabbitt.
Upon remotely accessing the computer networks of numerous companies without authorization, The Dark Overlord contacted the victims to demand ransom not to share the sensitive information. Wyatt admitted that the demand varied from $75,000 to $350,000. However, the hacker’s group always requested the same form of payment – Bitcoin.
A few years ago, The Dark Overlord took responsibility for an attack that saw thousands of insurance claims from the September 11th terrorist attacks stolen. According to Forbes, they planned to use those files to spread fears regarding conspiracy theories.
The Dark Overlord even started several online crowdfunding initiatives, saying that they will release documents once they reach specific financial goals ranging from $250 to $2 million in Bitcoin.
The group justified its actions by asserting that they were spreading only the truth. However, they reportedly told Forbes that “we are doing this to fuel our Bitcoin wallets.”