Ukrainian man pleads guilty in cyberattack that temporarily disrupted major Vermont hospital ABC News

pThe US Department of Justice says a Ukrainian man has pleaded guilty to involvement in two separate malware schemes including a cyberattack that temporarily shut down some vital services at a major hospital in VermontppLINCOLN Neb LINCOLN Neb AP ppA Ukrainian man has pleaded guilty to involvement in two separate malware schemes including a cyberattack at the University of Vermont Medical Center in 2020 that temporarily shut down some of its vital services and cost it tens of millions of dollars according to the US Department of Justice ppVyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov also known as Vyacheslav Igoravich Andreev 37 pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Nebraska to one count of conspiracy to break US antiracketeering law and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraudppRecords in the case are sealed so the name of Penchukovs lawyer was not immediately known FridayppPenchukov was accused of helping lead a racketeering enterprise and conspiracy that infected thousands of business computers with malicious software starting in May 2009 and later leading a conspiracy that infected computers with new malware from at least November 2018 through February 2021 according to federal prosecutors ppThat allowed other suspicious software like ransonware to access infected computers which is what happened at the University of Vermont Medical Center in October 2020 the Justice Department said ppA hospital official said in 2021 that the attack cost it an estimated 50 million mostly in lost revenue while the Department of Justice pegged the losses at 30 million ppThe attack left the medical center unable to provide many critical patient services for over two weeks creating a risk of death or serious bodily injury to patients the Justice Department said in a statement ppAccording to prosecutors the cybercriminals also used malicious software to get account details passwords personal identification numbers and other information needed to log into online banking accounts ppThey then falsely represented to banks that they were employees of the victims and authorized transfers from the accounts resulting in millions of dollars in losses the US Department of Justice said ppPenchukov was a fugitive on the FBIs cyber mostwanted list before he was arrested in Switzerland in 2022 and extradicted to the United States the following year ppHe faces up to 20 years in prison on each count when he sentenced May 9pp247 coverage of breaking news and live eventsp