A
former
affiliate
of
the
Netwalker
ransomware
has
been
sentenced
to
20
years
in
prison
in
the
U.S.,
a
little
over
three
months
after
the

Canadian
national
pleaded
guilty
to
his
role
in
the
crimes.

Sebastien
Vachon-Desjardins,
35,
has
also
been
ordered
to
forfeit
$21,500,000
that
was
illicitly
obtained
from
dozens
of
victims
globally,
including
companies,
municipalities,
hospitals,
law
enforcement,
emergency
services,
school
districts,
colleges,
and
universities.

Launched
in
2019,
the
Netwalker
attacks
particularly
singled
out
the
healthcare
sector
during
the
COVID-19
pandemic,
opportunistically
taking
advantage
of
the
situation
to
extort
money
from
victims.

“The
defendant
in
this
case
used
sophisticated
technological
means
to
exploit
hundreds
of
victims
in
numerous
countries
at
the
height
of
an
international
health
crisis,”
U.S.
Attorney
Roger
B.
Handberg
for
the
Middle
District
of
Florida

said.

Vachon-Desjardins,
an
IT
engineer
working
for
the
Canadian
government
was
extradited
to
the
U.S.
earlier
this
March.
A
month
before
that,
an
Ontario
court
awarded
him
a
jail
term
of
six
years
and
eight
months.

The
defendant
was
arrested
by
Canadian
law
enforcement
officers
in
the
city
of
Quebec
on
January
27,
2022,
leading
to
the
seizure
of
$742,840
in
Canadian
currency
and
719
bitcoin,
which
was
valued
at
$21,849,087
back
then
and
$14,463,993
as
of
today.