Canadian Cyber Executive Charged In Federal Hacking Case

A cybersecurity executive from Canada who held senior roles at firms that helped data breach victims negotiate ransom payments with cyber criminals has been charged in a federal hacking and data extortion case.

Edward Dubrovsky, who recently published a book on how to handle cyber extortion, is now charged with conspiracy to commit that very crime by threatening to disclose stolen or hacked data and interfering with interstate commerce through extortion, court records show. A court complaint detailing the allegations against Dubrovsky remains under seal.

Following his arrest, Dubrovsky — who is 54, according to federal records — appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Magistrate Judge Scott Reid ordered Dubrovsky transferred to the Eastern District of Texas, where the charges were filed, according to court records. Prosecutors have asked that he be detained pending trial. Records related to Dubrovsky’s case in Texas remain under seal.

It is not clear if Dubrovsky has been charged in connection with a major federal hacking-related case touted by FBI leadership Friday morning. The timing of the two cases, however, appears to align.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post Friday the bureau had recently arrested “another suspected co-conspirator” of the cybercrime gang known as ShinyHunters, which hacked an FBI jobs portal in September and hoovered up sensitive personnel data on swathes of bureau staff. The FBI has vowed to vigorously pursue those responsible for the breach, which many experts view as one of the worst data breaches affecting the U.S. government in years.

Patel’s post followed a Friday report in the New York Times that the FBI had arrested a Canadian citizen in Pennsylvania who was affiliated with ShinyHunters and allegedly played a role in the hack.

Dubrovsky could not be reached for comment. The Federal Public Defenders Office, which represented Dubrovsky in the Pennsylvania portion of his case, did not respond to a request for comment. Dubrovsky indicated in court papers that he would retain his own attorney, whose identity is not yet clear from the publicly posted case files.

A post on Dubrovsky’s LinkedIn account indicated he planned to attend the NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit in Philadelphiaearlier this week with the “CyberSteward team.” According to LinkedIn, CyberSteward is a Toronto-based cybersecurity firm that specializes in helping victims of breaches negotiate ransom payments with hackers. One of the company’s LinkedIn posts appears to show Dubrovsky at the conference, signing a book he self-published.

Dubrovsky’s LinkedIn page says he used to be the COO and founder of CYPFER, a global cybersecurity company with offices in Europe, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, the UAE and Latin America, according to its website.

CYPFER also helps negotiate and facilitate extortion payments for clients, in particular Fortune 500 companies, according to transcripts from a court case it was involved in last year. The litigation identifies Cybersteward as a trade name for CYPFER.

In another sign of Dubrovsky's stature, he was listed as a co-panelist with an FBI official at a large cybersecurity conference last year, according to an online agenda.

Spokespeople for CyberSteward and CYPFER could not immediately be reached for comment.

A 2022 press release announcing his appointment as CYPFER managing director describes Dubrovsky as “a 30-year veteran of the cybersecurity and technology industries” who “has helped thousands of organizations of all sizes and industries recover from devastating cyberattacks.”

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and for the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Philadelphia and Eastern Texas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ShinyHunters is a prolific cybercriminal group believed to have breached more than 140 organizations and extracted more than $70 million in extortion payments over the last year, according to the FBI.

FBI investigators last month determined the ShinyHunters hack had exposed Social Security numbers, home addresses, emergency contact information and other sensitive data on current and former agency personnel. The data trove also reportedly included information about what units FBI personnel were assigned to, and health and psychiatric records.

After another alleged member of ShinyHunters was arrested last month, the assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, Brett Leatherman, issued a rare public warning to the remaining members of the group to come forward or face serious consequences.

“Arrests have a way of changing who is willing to talk,” Leatherman said.