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* In this interview this person will be identified as LB0 (Lockbit administrator, founding member)
* vx-underground conducted this interview over TOX
- Text and grammar has been modified to improve legibility
смелли: When did you start Lockbit and why?
LB0: Lockbit was founded September 3rd, 2019. Other groups were autistic or drug addicts.
смелли: Hahahaha. So, was this your first ransomware group? Or were you a veteran of the ransomware scene?
LB0: I am a veteran.
смелли: How'd you come up with the name Lockbit? It's a cool name
LB0: Normal logic, lock and byte, lock byte [sic]
смелли: Did you start Lockbit by yourself? Or did you have a team?
LB0: I had a team. I'm the boss. Lockbit 1.0 was not created alone. Currently our team has over 10 members which includes pentesters,
developers, money launderers, testers, and negotiators.
смелли: You mentioned other competitors were drug addicts. Is substance abuse an issue in ransomware groups?
LB0: Yes, cocaine or marijuana. I use drugs, but in very reasonable quantities and in rare occasion
смелли: Understood. Well, is the current Lockbit team still present in Lockbit 3.0?
LB0: Yes, people very rarely leave. If they do leave, I find and recruit.
смелли: Do you ever see internal conflicts in the group? How do you manage that?
LB0: If I see that the person behaves inadequately and does not correct himself, then I fire such a person or create conditions under
which he leaves on his own.
смелли: Do you ever hire outside of your team? Like contractors?
LB0: Naturally, I hire different specialists for any work. I can't do everything with my own hands. In fact, I am a manager.
смелли: This is a lot of work. Are you stressed from running the largest cyber cartel in history?
LB0: I don't have any stress, I love my job, it's a lot of fun. I love when when I have 5 stars and helicopters like
in GTA, I have fun.
смелли: Your group is extremely active, how many affiliates do you have?
LB0: No more than 100 people at the moment. My dream is 300 partners like 300 Spartans. In my blog there is a detailed description of how to
become a partner, it can become any person from the planet earth and even aliens.
http://lockbitapt2d73krlbewgv27tquljgxr33xbwwsp6rkyieto7u4ncead.onion/rules
смелли: Regarding affiliates, you mentioned you have over 100... do you have ban affiliates? Do affiliates know each other? Do you have a chatroom?
LB0: No, we don't have a chatroom. If someone wants to share they're a partner, they can do so. As far as banning affiliates - I do regular
purges and block those who are not active.
смелли: Do you ever reward affiliates for being active or doing big ransoms?
LB0: The best reward for my partners is a stable platform to work with an impeccable reputation, the fourth year of stability what could be better?
смелли: Do you negotiate for affiliates? Or do they do it themselves?
LB0: I negotiate personally, for an increased percentage, the usual percentage is 20%, but if the negotiations are conducted by me personally,
the percentage ranges from 30 to 50% depending on the complexity and effectiveness of the negotiations.
смелли: Have you seen a decrease of affiliates since the beginning of the Russian / Ukrainian conflict?
LB0: Yes I observe, 1-20% of the partners have gone to other countries to avoid being mobilized, the FBI has a great opportunity to
catch someone who is not watching their anonymity and not quality laundering of money obtained by criminal means.
смелли: Do you ever casually talk with affiliates or consider them your friends?
LB0: Every partner is my friend)
смелли: Regarding affiliates, people have discussed the difficulty of cashing out ransoms. Is it hard?
LB0: I don't believe it, it's very simple.
смелли: What really? Its easy to cash out?
LB0: There's nothing easier than cashing out, it's the easiest thing in my job. Just transfer the money to Chinese exchangers, from there
to another exchange, then to drop *** cards. You send the *** to the ATM and they bring you the cash.
смелли: How do *** get the crypto on a card?
LB0: There are a lot of online services, from cryptocurrency exchanges to exchangers and localbitcoins. I always use different ways
to blend in with the crowd.
смелли: You trust ***?
LB0: I don't trust ***, but if you cash out long over several years and in small installments there is no problem.
смелли: Where do you find ***? Forums?
LB0: Yes
смелли: ... Do you meet them in person?
LB0: Yes
смелли: Do these money mules know you're the leader of Lockbit?
LB0: No lol they think I'm just some random hacker
смелли: Wow. How much cash do you have these mules move?
LB0: 1000-7000$
смелли: Do the mules go to the same ATM? Or multiple?
LB0: lol? Of course not, they go to different ATMs, I trust *** no more than $7,000
смелли: Do you give these mules a percentage of the money they cashed out?
LB0: Yes, 5%
смелли: In a video that was released, some cl0p ransomware affiliates stored their money under a mattress. Is that where you keep your money too?
LB0: I don't have money under my mattress, everything I cash out I immediately invest in the business and mix it with legal money, this
way I inflate my business profits and launder money. And I spend only the money that is obtained in an honest way from the profits of
my business and pay with my card)))
смелли: Hahahaha. Yes, its been rumored you own a restaurant. Is this true?
LB0: It's true, now I have 3 restaurants in China, and 2 restaurants in New York
смелли: Random question: If you had the chance to tell threat intelligence something, what would you say?
LB0: Work better bums, you have to find all my competitors, but you can never find me.
смелли: Random question: If you had the chance to talk to the FBI, what would you say?
LB0: Free Assange.
смелли: Random question: If you had a chance to tell an anti virus company something. What would you say?
LB0: Don't watch your users please