Ransomware · 63 days ago
A ransom negotiator who can see the victim's ceiling can make the extortion worse, because that access turns the response process into a leak source for the gang. In this case, prosecutors said Angelo Martino used his role to feed BlackCat victims' negotiating positions, insurance limits, and internal assessments, helping the group press five organizations for more money.
Martino was sentenced to 70 months in prison. The case was tied to a conspiracy that included two other cybersecurity workers, and prosecutors said one victim paid about $1.2 million in Bitcoin; federal investigators also seized more than $10 million in crypto and other assets linked to Martino.
For incident response teams that use outside negotiators or breach coaches, the negotiation channel is now a trust boundary, not a neutral buffer. If that channel is compromised, the damage is not just exposure of data but a better-priced extortion campaign.
6 sources covering this story
Ransomware negotiator who betrayed clients sentenced to 70 months in prison - Help Net Security
Former DigitalMint ransomware negotiator was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiring with the BlackCat ransomware group.
Florida ransomware negotiator convicted for helping ransomware gang extort US companies | TechCrunch
A third ransomware negotiator has been jailed for helping a notorious ransomware group extort American victim companies into paying the hackers.
Third US Security Expert Sentenced to Prison for Helping Ransomware Gang
Angelo Martino, a former ransomware negotiator, was sentenced to 70 months for helping the BlackCat/Alphv group.
Ransomware Negotiator Gets 70 Months in Prison for Aiding BlackCat Attacks
Former ransomware negotiator Angelo Martino gets 70 months for giving victim negotiation data to BlackCat operators and aiding extortion.
Former ransomware negotiator gets 4 years for BlackCat attacks
A former employee of cybersecurity incident response company DigitalMint was sentenced to 70 months in prison for targeting U.S.
Former DigitalMint ransomware negotiator who duped clients sentenced to 70 months in jail
Angelo Martino exploited his insider position and fed confidential information to ransomware co-conspirators to extort a combined $75.3 million from five U.S.-based victims.
Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-07-13