FBI arrests cyber-security executive

Federal charges hit Canadian ransomware negotiator as FBI hunts personnel-file hackers

A Canadian ransomware negotiator is in federal custody in Philadelphia on extortion charges as the FBI hunts hackers behind a claimed theft of nearly every bureau employee's personnel data.

The New York Post reported that Edward Dubrovsky, a 54-year-old cybersecurity executive who specializes in talks with ransomware crews, was arrested Thursday in the Philadelphia area on federal charges.

Court records in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania describe counts tied to conspiracy to threaten the confidentiality of information to extort money, plus interference with commerce. A separate criminal case in the Eastern District of Texas remains sealed, so the concrete acts behind those labels are still unclear.

That sealed Texas matter is where the case is headed next. A Pennsylvania judge ordered Dubrovsky held after prosecutors sought detention, pending a hearing there. A Friday order then directed the U.S. Marshals Service to move him for further proceedings.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator lists him at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, with the release date marked unknown.

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