(Reuters) – Prosecutors said three American cybersecurity professionals secretly ran a ransomware operation targeting companies across the United States.

Only two of the three individuals Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin were publicly identified. According to an indictment filed last month in federal court in Miami, they collaborated with the notorious hacking group ALPHV BlackCat to encrypt corporate networks and attempt to extort millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from company owners.

The news was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday.

Goldberg has been detained ahead of trial, while Martin pleaded not guilty, court records show. Lawyers for both declined to comment. Authorities did not disclose the names of affected companies, describing them only as firms operating in various industries across California, Florida, Virginia, and Maryland.

Martin was identified in online course descriptions as a former employee of cybersecurity firm DigitalMint, which provides cybercrime and ransomware incident response services. Goldberg was listed by an online course provider as an incident response manager at Sygnia, another cybersecurity firm.

DigitalMint confirmed in a statement that a former employee had been indicted for participating in ransomware operations, emphasizing he was “acting completely outside the scope of his employment” and that the company had no knowledge of the activity. The statement noted that the third, unnamed co-conspirator “may have also been a company employee.” DigitalMint added that it “has been and continues to be a cooperating witness in the investigation and not an investigative target.”

Sygnia said Goldberg was terminated “immediately upon learning of the situation,” that the firm was not the target of the investigation, and that it is fully cooperating with law enforcement.

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