🔎 New: Inside the Mind of a Ransomware Actor: My 8-Month Conversation with REvil’s Yaroslav Vasinskyi
This week, I’m publishing what’s probably my favorite and most nerve-wracking, chapter 7 of Ransomware Diaries so far. Why? Because of the story behind it.
Over the past seven months, I’ve been in close communication with Yaroslav Vasinskyi, the man behind the Kaseya attack, who is currently doing his time in jail. It’s been a journey full of unexpected revelations from many different angles.
To clarify: Vasinskyi reached out to me. He wanted to talk. He wanted to tell his side of the story. And this was different, because for the first time, I was speaking with someone who is currently serving time for the cybercrimes he committed.
From the beginning, I made it clear:
‼️My reporting would be public, and I had no intention of justifying his actions or glorifying cybercrime.
‼️My goal was simple - to understand. To learn from his story and to share it.
What followed was a series of phone calls from prison, letters, and emails, all telling fragments of a much bigger story.
Some of what Vasinskyi shared will feel controversial. It certainly did to me. There’s a narrative of a young man facing enormous pressure and personal struggles. But this is not an attempt to excuse what he did. It never is.
Instead, it’s an exploration of what was happening behind the scenes. Of what led him there. I’ve shared his story as openly as I could, leaving out a few details that, for now, remain off the record. But what’s there is real. It’s raw.
And it’s an invitation to understand the human side of a high-profile cybercrime case.
Because sometimes, understanding is the first step toward prevention.
