Edward Dubrovsky, a 54-year-old Canadian cybersecurity executive whose work includes negotiating with ransomware hackers, was arrested Thursday in the Philadelphia area, according to federal court documents cited by Reuters.
Records in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania list charges related to conspiracy to threaten the confidentiality of information to extort money and interference with commerce. The allegations have not been detailed publicly because the related criminal case in the Eastern District of Texas is sealed, Reuters reported.
A Pennsylvania court order dated Thursday shows prosecutors sought Dubrovsky’s detention and a judge ordered him held pending a detention hearing in Texas. A separate order issued Friday directed the U.S. Marshals Service to transport the defendant there. The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator lists Dubrovsky as being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, with no release date specified.
The arrest comes amid an FBI investigation into ShinyHunters, a hacking group that recently claimed to have stolen information concerning nearly every FBI employee. FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday that agents had arrested another suspected co-conspirator in the group, but did not name that person.
Authorities have not publicly said whether Dubrovsky is the suspect Patel referenced or whether his arrest is connected to the ShinyHunters investigation. The source report says Dubrovsky’s professional profile identifies him as affiliated with CyberSteward, a firm that offers services related to cyber extortion and negotiations with threat actors.
