Russian botnet operator linked to major ransomware attacks sentenced in US A Russian national has been sentenced to two years in U.S. prison for helping operate a botnet used by ransomware gangs to attack American companies, authorities said Tuesday. Ilya Angelov, 40, of Tolyatti, Russia, pleaded guilty to managing a botnet that other cybercriminals used to break into corporate systems and deploy ransomware. A U.S. district court sentenced Angelov to 24 months in prison and imposed a $100,000 fine. According to court records, he was one of the leaders of a Russia-based cybercrime group known as Mario Kart, also tracked as TA-551, Shathak, Gold Cabin and Monster Libra. Members of the group distributed malware, launched large-scale spam campaigns and sold access to compromised machines to…