{"rewrite":{"id":"r_e871379bea9eb2cd4499f7d5","clusterId":"c_93ca1fb2fe1831603d6776c5","slug":"monstercloud-ceo-indicted-for-billing-ransomware-victims-while-paying-attackers","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"MonsterCloud CEO Indicted for Billing Ransomware Victims While Paying Attackers","summary":"Zohar Pinhasi, who served as CEO of MonsterCloud, was indicted on October 7, 2026 on wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors allege he told ransomware victims his company could restore encrypted files with proprietary decryption tools, then used part of the fees to pay the attackers for keys. The indictment says he billed customers more than $19 million and paid more than $8 million as ransom.","whyItMatters":"The case turns on the gap between what a remediation firm advertised and what it actually did, and the indictment alleges that gap was the business model rather than a failure of it.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eProsecutors say the fees were the point. In one August 2023 case described in the indictment, Pinhasi paid about $8,200 to cybercriminals holding a customer\u0026#39;s files and billed that customer about $150,000. Across the scheme, the indictment alleges more than $19 million in customer billings and more than $8 million in ransom payments to attackers.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinhasi has pleaded not guilty, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney\u0026#39;s Office. FBI Deputy Director James C. Barnacle Jr. said in a statement that the defendant claimed to remediate ransomware but never addressed the underlying threat. ProPublica noted the indictment tracks its 2019 investigation, in which Pinhasi, then using the pseudonym Zack Green, called MonsterCloud\u0026#39;s recovery method a trade secret.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"MonsterCloud's pitch was that no ransom needed paying. Prosecutors say Zohar Pinhasi billed victims over $19 million and sent more than $8 million of it to the attackers for keys.","twitterPost":"MonsterCloud sold victims a no-ransom fix. Zohar Pinhasi is accused of paying attackers $8 million out of the fees.","threadsPost":"MonsterCloud's selling point was that victims would not have to pay hackers. The indictment against Zohar Pinhasi says he billed customers more than $19 million and paid more than $8 million of that to the attackers for decryption keys.","newsletterBlurb":"Zohar Pinhasi, former CEO of the ransomware remediation firm MonsterCloud, was indicted on October 7, 2026 on wire fraud charges. Prosecutors allege he advertised proprietary decryption while paying attackers out of customer fees, billing more than $19 million and paying more than $8 million in ransom. He has pleaded not guilty.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"GIGAZINE\",\"url\":\"https://gigazine.net/news/20261031-monstercloud-ransomware-victims/\",\"title\":\"Security company that claimed it could 'restore encrypted files without paying hackers a ransom' actually paid ransoms out of the high fees it collected from victims; CEO indicted\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":5247,"outputTokens":807,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1793443626,"createdAt":"2026-10-31T10:44:00.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-31T10:45:57.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-31T10:45:57.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_93ca1fb2fe1831603d6776c5","canonicalTitle":"「ハッカーに身代金を支払うことなく暗号化されたファイルを復元できる」というセキュリティ企業が実際は被害者から得た高額な手数料の中から身代金を支払っていたとしてCEOが起訴される","representativeArticleId":"a_9eafabc321931767ffecbbe1","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-31T10:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-31T10:00:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-31T10:45:57.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"GIGAZINE","url":"https://gigazine.net/news/20261031-monstercloud-ransomware-victims/","title":"「ハッカーに身代金を支払うことなく暗号化されたファイルを復元できる」というセキュリティ企業が実際は被害者から得た高額な手数料の中から身代金を支払っていたとしてCEOが起訴される"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Zohar Pinhasi, who served as CEO of MonsterCloud, was indicted on October 7, 2026 on wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of New York.","The indictment alleges Pinhasi billed customers more than $19 million and paid more than $8 million of that to ransomware attackers.","In one August 2023 case, Pinhasi paid about $8,200 in ransom while billing the customer about $150,000.","A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office said Pinhasi has pleaded not guilty.","ProPublica noted the indictment reflects the contents of its 2019 investigative article 'The Trade Secret.'"],"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":[],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}