Two American men have pleaded guilty in a Florida federal court to using the ALPHV (BlackCat) ransomware to attack multiple U.S. victims between April and December 2023. The Department of Justice revealed that the defendants, both from the cybersecurity industry, extorted approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin from one victim. They paid 20% of the ransom to the BlackCat administrators for access to the ransomware platform. The court documents indicate that their actions disrupted interstate commerce through extortion. Both men face up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 12, 2026.