Akira ransomware continues to evolve
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
Embargo ransomware: Rock’n’Rust
ESET researchers uncover new Rust-based tools that we named MDeployer and MS4Killer and that are actively utilized by a new ransomware group called Embargo.
macOS NotLockBit | Evolving Ransomware Samples Suggest a Threat Actor Sharpening Its Tools
An unknown threat actor is developing ransomware to lock files and steal data on macOS, and it's not LockBit.
Ransomware Gangs Use LockBit's Fame to Intimidate Victims in Latest Attacks
Threat actors exploit Amazon S3 in ransomware attacks, using AWS credentials for data theft.
Decrypted: Mallox ransomware
Researchers uncover flaw in Mallox ransomware, offering free file recovery for early victims
Lynx Ransomware: A Rebranding of INC Ransomware
Discover recent attacks using Lynx ransomware, a rebrand of INC, targeting multiple crucial sectors in the U.S. and UK with prevalent double-extortion tactics. Discover recent attacks using Lynx ransomware, a rebrand of INC, targeting multiple crucial sectors in the U.S. and UK with prevalent double-extortion tactics.
Perfecting Ransomware on AWS — Using ‘keys to the kingdom’ to change the locks
If someone asked me what was the best way to make money from a compromised AWS Account (assume root access even) — I would have answered “dump the data and hope that no-one notices you before you finish it up.” This answer would have been valid until ~8 months ago when I stumbled upon a lesser known feature of AWS KMS which allows an attacker to do devastating ransomware attacks on a compromised AWS account. Now I know that ransomware attacks using cross-account KMS keys is already known (checkout the article below)— but even then, the CMK is managed by AWS and they can just block the attackers access to the CMK and decrypt data for the victim because the key is OWNED by AWS and attacker is just given API access to it under AWS TOS. Also there’s no way to delete the CMK but only schedule the key deletion (min 7 days) which means there’s ample time for AWS to intervene.
Cyber Cops Stopped 500 Ransomware Hacks Since 2021, DHS Says - Bloomberg
Homeland Security Investigations is stopping hacks before they occur.
Event Log Talks a Lot: Identifying Human-operated Ransomware through Windows Event Logs - JPCERT/CC Eyes
The difficult part of the initial response to a human-operated ransomware attack is identifying the attack vector. You may already know from recent security incident trends that the vulnerabilities of VPN devices are likely to be exploited, but it often...
Crucial Texas hospital system turning ambulances away after ransomware attack
One of the largest hospitals in West Texas has been forced to divert ambulances after a ransomware attack shut down many of its systems last Thursday. The University Medical Center Health System in Lubbock confirmed on Friday that IT outages are being caused by a ransomware incident.
Storm-0501: Ransomware attacks expanding to hybrid cloud environments
Microsoft has observed the threat actor tracked as Storm-0501 launching a multi-staged attack where they compromised hybrid cloud environments and performed lateral movement from on-premises to cloud environment, leading to data exfiltration, credential theft, tampering, persistent backdoor access, and ransomware deployment. The said attack targeted multiple sectors in the United States, including government, manufacturing, transportation, and law enforcement. Storm-0501 is a financially motivated cybercriminal group that uses commodity and open-source tools to conduct ransomware operations.
Inside the Dragon: DragonForce Ransomware Group
in light of the escalating frequency and complexity of ransomware attacks, are security leaders confident in their organization’s defenses? According to Group-IB’s Hi-Tech Crime Trends 2023/2024 Report, ransomware will have an increasingly significant impact in 2024 and beyond. Key trends driving this include the expansion of the Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) market, the proliferation of stolen data on Dedicated Leak Sites (DLS), and a rise in affiliate programs.
Nitrogen Campaign Drops Sliver and Ends With BlackCat Ransomware
In November 2023, we identified a BlackCat ransomware intrusion started by Nitrogen malware hosted on a website impersonating Advanced IP Scanner. Nitrogen was leveraged to deploy Sliver and Cobalt Strike beacons on the beachhead host and perform further malicious actions. The two post-exploitation frameworks were loaded in memory through Python scripts. After obtaining initial access and establishing further command and control connections, the threat actor enumerated the compromised network with the use of PowerSploit, SharpHound, and native Windows utilities. Impacket was employed to move laterally, after harvesting domain credentials. The threat actor deployed an opensource backup tool call Restic on a file server to exfiltrate share data to a remote server. Eight days after initial access the threat actor modified a privileged user password and deployed BlackCat ransomware across the domain using PsExec to execute a batch script. Six rules were added to our Private Ruleset related to this intrusion.
Kryptina RaaS | From Unsellable Cast-Off to Enterprise Ransomware
Kryptina's adoption by Mallox affiliates complicates malware tracking as ransomware operators blend different codebases into new variants. Kryptina evolved from a free tool on public forums to being actively used in enterprise attacks, particularly under the Mallox ransomware family. In May 2024, a Mallox affiliate leaked staging server data, revealing that their Linux ransomware was based on a modified version of Kryptina. The affiliate made superficial changes to source code and documentation, stripping Kryptina branding but retaining core functionality. The adoption of Kryptina by Mallox affiliates exemplifies the commoditization of ransomware tools, complicating malware tracking as affiliates blend different codebases into new variants. * This original research was presented by the author at LABScon 2024 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Vanir Ransomware Group onion site seized by German law enforcement
Threat actors called Vanir Ransomware Group posted a few listings in July. Tonight, however, their onion site has a seized message: ” THIS HIDDEN SITE HAS BEEN SEIZED by the State Bureau of Investigation Baden-Württemberg as a part of a law enforcement action taken against Vanir Ransomware Group “
Qilin ransomware attack on Synnovis impacted over 900K patients
The personal information of a million individuals was leaked online following a ransomware attack that in June hit NHS hospitals in London.
German radio station forced to broadcast 'emergency tape' following cyberattack
Radio Geretsried, a local station in Bavaria, said it was trying to save music files and restore systems after an apparent ransomware attack.
RansomHub claims Kawasaki cyberattack, threatens to leak stolen data
Kawasaki Motors Europe has announced that it's recovering from a cyberattack that caused service disruptions as the RansomHub ransomware gang threatens to leak stolen data.
Kawasaki’s European HQ recovers from cyber attack
At the start of September, Kawasaki Motors Europe, (KME) was the subject of a cyber-attack which, although not successful, resulted in the company’s servers being temporarily isolated until a strategic recovery plan was initiated later on the same day. KME and its country Branches operate a large number of servers and, as a precaution, it was decided to isolate each one and put a cleansing process in place whereby all data was checked and any suspicious material identified and dealt with.
Tracking Ransomware - August 2024 - CYFIRMA
August 2024 witnessed a noticeable increase in ransomware activity, with emerging groups like Lynx and RansomHub showing dramatic...
Arctic Wolf Observes Akira Ransomware Campaign Targeting SonicWall SSLVPN Accounts
In recent threat activity observed by Arctic Wolf, Akira ransomware affiliates carried out ransomware attacks with an initial access vector involving the compromise of SSLVPN user accounts on SonicWall devices.
Cicada 3301 - Ransomware-as-a-Service - Technical Analysis
Discover the latest insights on the emerging ransomware group Cicada3301, first detected in June 2024. Truesec's investigation reveals key findings about this group, named after a famous cryptography game, now targeting multiple victims.
Cybercriminals operating ransomware as a service from overseas continue to be responsible for most high-profile cybercrime attacks against the UK
The deployment of ransomware remains the greatest serious and organised cybercrime threat, the largest cybersecurity threat, and also poses a risk to the UK’s national security. Ransomware attacks can have a significant impact on victims due to financial, data, and service losses, which can lead to business closure, inaccessible public services, and compromised customer data. Threat actors are typically based in overseas jurisdictions where limited cooperation makes it challenging for UK law enforcement to disrupt their activities.
BlackSuit Ransomware
- In December 2023, we observed an intrusion that started with the execution of a Cobalt Strike beacon and ended in the deployment of BlackSuit ransomware. The threat actor leveraged various tools, including Sharphound, Rubeus, SystemBC, Get-DataInfo.ps1, Cobalt Strike, and ADFind, along with built-in system tools. Command and control traffic was proxied through CloudFlare to conceal their Cobalt Strike server. Fifteen days after initial access, BlackSuit ransomware was deployed by copying files over SMB to admin shares and executing them through RDP sessions. Three rules were added to our private ruleset related to this case.
Qilin ransomware caught stealing credentials stored in Google Chrome
Familiar ransomware develops an appetite for passwords to third-party sites
Ransomware attackers introduce new EDR killer to their arsenal
Sophos discovers the threat actors behind RansomHub ransomware using EDRKillShifter in attacks
CVE-2024-23897 Enabled Ransomware Attack on Indian Banks
CVE-2024-23897 is an unauthenticated arbitary file read vulnerability in Jenkins CLI used by RansomEXX to target small Indian banks.
Don’t get Mad, get wise
The “Mad Liberator” ransomware group leverages social-engineering moves to watch out for
Security bugs in ransomware leak sites helped save six companies from paying hefty ransoms
The vulnerabilities allowed one security researcher to peek inside the leak sites without having to log in.
How a cybersecurity researcher befriended, then doxed, the leader of LockBit
Jon DiMaggio used sockpuppet accounts, then his own identity, to infiltrate LockBit and gain the trust of its alleged admin, Dmitry Khoroshev.