{
  "id": 7559056,
  "title": "Swiss court sentences 52-year-old Ukrainian ransomware dev to nearly 13 years in the cooler",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/swiss-court-sentences-52-year-old-ukrainian-ransomware-dev-to-nearly",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T13:32:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/09/15/swiss-court-sentences-52-year-old-ukrainian-ransomware-dev-to-nearly-13-years-in-the-cooler/5296482"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 52-year-old Ukrainian ransomware developer from Switzerland has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison by Zurich District Court. The court found that he developed LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware, but did not orchestrate the attacks. He was also banned from Switzerland for ten years. The judgment is not final and can be appealed. The developer, identified as Volodymyr Tymoshchuk, denied knowing his software was used for criminal purposes and claimed the source code came from his consulting work. However, the court dismissed this explanation, citing extortion messages in his data. He was convicted of his role in ransomware attacks on companies like Stadler Rail, Meier Tobler, and Crealogix, causing estimated losses of several hundred million Swiss francs. Tymoshchuk is also facing a US indictment for masterminding at least three ransomware crews responsible for attacks on over 1,800 entities in 71 countries.",
  "summary": "The man allegedly wrote the code that powered the Lockergoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim operations",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register",
        "title": "Swiss court sentences 52-year-old Ukrainian ransomware dev to nearly 13 years in the cooler",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/swiss-court-sentences-52-year-old-ukrainian-ransomware-dev-to-nearly-7561689",
        "published": "2026-09-15T13:32:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}