A Canadian cybersecurity executive who specializes in negotiating with ransomware hackers has reportedly been arrested on federal charges in Pennsylvania.
Edward Dubrovsky, 54, was arrested Thursday in the Philadelphia area, according to federal court documents cited by Reuters. The arrest comes as the FBI investigates ShinyHunters, a hacking group that recently claimed to have stolen information concerning nearly every FBI employee. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether Dubrovsky’s arrest is connected to that investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday in a post on X that agents had arrested another suspected co-conspirator of ShinyHunters, the group believed to be responsible for a recent incident involving the FBI’s jobs website.
“Our agents in the field have arrested another suspected co-conspirator of the ShinyHunters group – the group believed to be responsible for the recent FBIjobs.gov incident, which occurred on a platform managed by a third-party vendor,” Patel wrote.
Patel said the arrest was the latest involving the network in a matter of days as the FBI works to dismantle the group and pursue additional leads. He did not identify the arrested suspect by name, and authorities have not publicly confirmed whether Dubrovsky is the individual referenced in his statement.
Federal court records filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania list charges involving conspiracy to threaten the confidentiality of information to extort money and interference with commerce, Reuters reported.
The specific conduct underlying the federal allegations remains unclear because the criminal case in the Eastern District of Texas is sealed.
A federal court order issued Thursday in Pennsylvania shows that prosecutors requested the defendant’s detention and that a judge ordered him held pending a detention hearing in the Eastern District of Texas.
A separate order issued Friday directed the US Marshals Service to transport the defendant to Texas for further proceedings.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ online inmate locator, Dubrovsky is listed as being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. His release date is listed as unknown.
Dubrovsky’s professional background includes negotiating with cybercriminals over ransom demands, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His profile identifies him as being affiliated with CyberSteward, a cybersecurity firm that advertises services involving negotiations with threat actors, cyber extortion and settlement facilitation.
