Industry professionals comment on the recent disruption of the Hive ransomware operation and its hacking by law enforcement. In November 2019, Maze published the stolen data of Allied Universal for not paying the ransom. A Dedicated IP address gives you all the benefits of using a VPN, plus a little more stability and usability, since that IP address will be exclusive to you. We explore how different groups have utilised them to threaten and intimidate victims using a variety of techniques and, in some cases, to achieve different objectives. By: Paul Hammel - February 23, 2023 7:22 pm. Bolder still, the site wasn't on the dark web where it's impossible to locate and difficult to take down, but hard for many people to reach. In the middle of a ransomware incident, cyber threat intelligence research on the threat group can provide valuable information for negotiations. Click that. This is significantly less than the average ransom payment of $228,125 in the second quarter of 2022 (a number that has risen significantly in the past two years). Leakwatch scans the internet to detect if some exposed information requires your attention. Sodinokibiburst into operation in April 2019 and is believed to be the successor of GandCrab, whoshut down their ransomware operationin 2019. This inclusion of a ransom demand for the exfiltrated data is not yet commonly seen across ransomware families. Keep your people and their cloud apps secure by eliminating threats, avoiding data loss and mitigating compliance risk. Got only payment for decrypt 350,000$. Here is an example of the name of this kind of domain: As Malwarebytes notes, ransom negotiations and data leaks are typically coordinated from ALPHVs dark web site, but it appears that the miscreants took a different approach with at least one of their victims. PayPal is alerting roughly 35,000 individuals that their accounts have been targeted in a credential stuffing campaign. Duplication of a Norway-based victims details on both the TWISTED SPIDER DLS and, DLS contributed to theories the adversaries were collaborating, though the data was also available on criminal forums at the time it appeared on, Also in August 2020, details of two victims were duplicated on both TWISTED SPIDERs DLS and WIZARD SPIDERs, DLS, resulting in theories that WIZARD SPIDER is a new addition to the Maze Cartel. The Veterans Administration lost 26.5 million records with sensitive data, including social security numbers and date of birth information, after an employee took data home. Dumped databases and sensitive data were made available to download from the threat actors dark web pages relatively quickly after exfiltration (within 72 hours). Read the latest press releases, news stories and media highlights about Proofpoint. What makes this DLS interesting is an indication that the threat actors were likely issuing two ransom demands: one for the victim to obtain the decryption key and a second to delete the exfiltrated data from the DLS. What makes this DLS interesting is an indication that the threat actors were likely issuing two ransom demands: one for the victim to obtain the decryption key and a second to delete the exfiltrated data from the DLS. The actor has continued to leak data with increased frequency and consistency. Soon after, all the other ransomware operators began using the same tactic to extort their victims. When first starting, the ransomware used the .locked extension for encrypted files and switched to the .pysa extension in November 2019. The Sekhmet operators have created a web site titled 'Leaks leaks and leaks' where they publish data stolen from their victims. Dedicated IP servers are available through Trust.Zone, though you don't get them by default. TWISTED SPIDERs reputation as a prolific ransomware operator arguably bolsters the reputation of the newer operators and could encourage the victim to pay the ransom demand. Starting last year, ransomware operators have escalated their extortion strategies by stealing files from victims before encrypting their data. This position has been . Data leak sites are usually dedicated dark web pages that post victim names and details. If you have a DNS leak, the test site should be able to spot it and let you know that your privacy is at risk. For those interesting in reading more about this ransomware, CERT-FR has a great report on their TTPs. The first part of this two-part blog series explored the origins of ransomware, BGH and extortion and introduced some of the criminal adversaries that are currently dominating the data leak extortion ecosystem. The Nephilim ransomware group's data dumping site is called 'Corporate Leaks.' The gang is reported to have created "data packs" for each employee, containing files related to their hotel employment. block. The ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group ALPHV, also known as BlackCat and Noberus, is currently one of the most active. In May 2020, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed an update to the Ako ransomware portal. In operation since the end of 2018, Snatch was one of the first ransomware infections to steal data and threaten to publish it. After this occurred, leaks associated with VIKING SPIDER's Ragnar Locker began appearing on TWISTED SPIDER's dedicated leak site and Maze ransomware began deploying ransomware using common virtualization software, a tactic originally pioneered by VIKING SPIDER. This is a 13% decrease when compared to the same activity identified in Q2. CrowdStrike Intelligence has previously observed actors selling access to organizations on criminal underground forums. Proofpoint is a leading cybersecurity company that protects organizations' greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. What makes this DLS interesting is an indication that the threat actors were likely issuing two ransom demands: one for the victim to obtain the decryption key and a second to delete the exfiltrated data from the DLS. If you are the target of an active ransomware attack, please request emergency assistance immediately. When purchasing a subscription, you have to check an additional box. Collaboration between operators may also place additional pressure on the victim to meet the ransom demand, as the stolen data has gained increased publicity and has already been shared at least once. To date, the collaboration appears to focus on data sharing, but should the collaboration escalate into combined or consecutive ransomware operations, then the fallout and impact on victims could become significantly higher. For comparison, the number of victimized companies in the US in 2020 stood at 740 and represented 54.9% of the total. Less-established operators can host data on a more-established DLS, reducing the risk of the data being taken offline by a public hosting provider. Conti Ransomware is the successor of the notorious Ryuk Ransomware and it now being distributed by the TrickBot trojan. But while all ransomware groups share the same objective, they employ different tactics to achieve their goal. On June 2, 2020, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed PINCHY SPIDER introduce a new auction feature to their, DLS. Figure 4. ALPHV, also known as BlackCat, created a leak site on the regular web, betting it can squeeze money out of victims faster than a dark web site. Most recently, Snake released the patient data for the French hospital operator Fresenius Medical Care. They were publicly available to anyone willing to pay for them. Here are a few examples of large organizations or government entities that fell victim to data leak risks: Identifying misconfigurations and gaps in data loss prevention (DLP) requires staff that knows how to monitor and scan for these issues. DNS leaks can be caused by a number of things. Atlas VPN analysis builds on the recent Hi-Tech Crime Trends report by Group-IB. Emotet is a loader-type malware that's typically spread via malicious emails or text messages. (Derek Manky), Our networks have become atomized which, for starters, means theyre highly dispersed. SunCrypt also stated that they had a 72-hour countdown for a target to start communicating with them, after which they claimed they would post 10% of the data. Starting in July 2020, the Mount Locker ransomware operation became active as they started to breach corporate networks and deploytheir ransomware. In March, Nemtycreated a data leak site to publish the victim's data. Reduce risk, control costs and improve data visibility to ensure compliance. The result was the disclosure of social security numbers and financial aid records. Data exfiltration risks for insiders are higher than ever. Our mission at Asceris is to reduce the financial and business impact of cyber incidents and other adverse events. Not just in terms of the infrastructure legacy, on-premises, hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge. A security team can find itself under tremendous pressure during a ransomware attack. Read how Proofpoint customers around the globe solve their most pressing cybersecurity challenges. In August 2020, operators of SunCrypt ransomware claimed they were a new addition to the Maze Cartel the claim was refuted by TWISTED SPIDER. It is not known if they are continuing to steal data. By understanding the cost drivers of claims and addressing these proactively through automation and continuous process refinement, we are able to deliver high quality incident response services in close collaboration with our industry partners. This ransomware started operating in Jutne 2020 and is distributed after a network is compromised by the TrickBot trojan. They may publish portions of the data at the early stages of the attack to prove that they have breached the target's system and stolen data, and ultimately may publish full data dumps of those refusing to pay the ransom. [deleted] 2 yr. ago. An error in a Texas Universitys software allowed users with access to also access names, courses, and grades for 12,000 students. BleepingComputer has seen ransom demands as low as $200,000 for victims who did not have data stolen to a high of$2,000,000 for victim whose data was stolen. Figure 3. TWISTED SPIDERs reputation as a prolific ransomware operator arguably bolsters the reputation of the newer operators and could encourage the victim to pay the ransom demand. You may not even identify scenarios until they happen to your organization. A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the Got a confidential news tip? Registered user leak auction page, A minimum deposit needs to be made to the provided XMR address in order to make a bid. The aim seems to have been to make it as easy as possible for employees and guests to find their data, so that they would put pressure on the hotelier to pay up. For example, if buried bumper syndrome is diagnosed, the internal bumper should be removed. Security solutions such as the. Management. Nemty also has a data leak site for publishing the victim's data but it was, recently, unreachable. Small Business Solutions for channel partners and MSPs. These evolutions in data leak extortion techniques demonstrate the drive of these criminal actors to capitalize on their capabilities and increase monetization wherever possible. Learn about our unique people-centric approach to protection. Copyright 2022 Asceris Ltd. All rights reserved. All Rights Reserved BNP Media. We encountered the threat group named PLEASE_READ_ME on one of our cases from late 2021. RagnarLocker has created a web site called 'Ragnar Leaks News' where they publish the stolen data of victims who do not pay a ransom. Make sure you have these four common sources for data leaks under control. Yet, this report only covers the first three quarters of 2021. Digging below the surface of data leak sites. Similar to many other ransomware operators, the threat actors added a link to their dedicated leak site (DLS), as shown in Figure 1. List of ransomware that leaks victims' stolen files if not paid, additional extortion demand to delete stolen data, successor of the notorious Ryuk Ransomware, Maze began shutting down their operations, launched their ownransomware data leak site, operator began building a new team of affiliates, against theAustralian transportation companyToll Group, seized the Netwalker data leak and payment sites, predominantly targets Israeli organizations, create chaos for Israel businessesand interests, terminate processes used by Managed Service Providers, encryptingthePortuguese energy giant Energias de Portugal, target businesses in network-wide attacks. During the attacks data is stolen and encrypted, and the victim is asked to pay a ransom for both a decryption tool, and to prevent the stolen data being leaked. Hackers tend to take the ransom and still publish the data. We downloaded confidential and private data. It does this by sourcing high quality videos from a wide variety of websites on . Stand out and make a difference at one of the world's leading cybersecurity companies. Equally, it may be that this was simply an experiment and that ALPHV were using the media to spread word of the site and weren't expecting it to be around for very long. The Login button can be used to log in as a previously registered user, and the Registration button provides a generated username and password for the auction session. come with many preventive features to protect against threats like those outlined in this blog series. Like a shared IP, a Dedicated IP connects you to a VPN server that conceals your internet traffic data, protects your digital privacy, and bypasses network blocks. by Malwarebytes Labs. Copyright 2023 Wired Business Media. The attackers pretend to be a trustworthy entity to bait the victims into trusting them and revealing their confidential data. Edme is an incident response analyst at Asceris working on business email compromise cases, ransomware investigations, and tracking cyber threat groups and malware families. They previously had a leak site created at multiple TOR addresses, but they have since been shut down. Publishing a targets data on a leak site can pose a threat that is equivalent or even greater than encryption, because the data leak can trigger legal and financial consequences for the victim, as well as reputational damage and related business losses. Usually, cybercriminals demand payment for the key that will allow the company to decrypt its files. If you are interested to learn more about ransomware trends in 2021 together with tips on how to protect yourself against them, check out our other articles on the topic: Cybersecurity Researcher and Publisher at Atlas VPN. As part of the rebrand, they also began stealing data from companies before encrypting their files and leaking them if not paid. A yet-to-be-seen but realistic threat is that victims whose data is hosted in multiple locations could face negotiations with multiple ransomware operators, potentially increasing the price of the ransom to ensure the datas removal and destruction. Security solutions such as the CrowdStrike Falcon endpoint protection platform come with many preventive features to protect against threats like those outlined in this blog series. Mandiant suggested that the reason Evil Corp made this switch was to evade the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions that had been released in December 2019 and more generally to blend in with other affiliates and eliminate the cost tied to the development of new ransomware. Operated as a private Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), Conti released a data leak site with twenty-six victims on August 25, 2020. After successfully breaching a business in the accommodation industry, the cybercriminals created a dedicated leak website on the surface web, where they posted employee and guest data allegedly stolen from the victims systems. Our experience with two threat groups, PLEASE_READ_ME and SunCrypt, highlight the different ways groups approach the extortion process and the choices they make around the publication of data. This group's ransomware activities gained media attention after encrypting 267 servers at Maastricht University. Once the bidder is authenticated for a particular auction, the resulting page displays auction deposit amounts, starting auction price, ending auction price, an XMR address to send transactions to, a listing of transactions to that address, and the time left until the auction expires, as shown in Figure 3. Instead it was on the regular world wide web, where we (and law enforcement) could easily discover things like where it was located and what company was hosting it. Browserleaks.com; Browserleaks.com specializes in WebRTC leaks and would . WebRTC and Flash request IP addresses outside of your proxy, socks, or VPN connections are the leading cause of IP leaks. A data leak can simply be disclosure of data to a third party from poor security policies or storage misconfigurations. Examples of data that could be disclosed after a leak include: Data protection strategies should always include employee education and training, but administrators can take additional steps to stop data leaks. Researchers only found one new data leak site in 2019 H2. . Call us now. We have information protection experts to help you classify data, automate data procedures, stay compliant with regulatory requirements, and build infrastructure that supports effective data governance. DLSs increased to 15 in the first half of the year and to 18 in the second half, totaling 33 websites for 2021. Ransomware profile: Wizard Spider / Conti, Bad magic: when patient zero disappears without a trace, ProxyShell: the latest critical threat to unpatched Exchange servers, Maze threat group were the first to employ the method, identified targeted organisations that did not comply, multiple techniques to keep the target at the negotiation table, Asceris' dark web monitoring and cyber threat intelligence services. By definition, phishing is "a malicious technique used by cybercriminals to gather sensitive information (credit card data, usernames, and passwords, etc.) As data leak extortion swiftly became the new norm for big game hunting (BGH) ransomware operators since late 2019, various criminal adversaries began innovating in this area. Maze is responsible for numerous high profile attacks, including ones against cyber insurer Chubb, the City of Pensacola,Bouygues Construction, and Banco BCR. Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Daily Briefing and get the latest content delivered to your inbox. These auctions are listed in a specific section of the DLS, which provides a list of available and previously expired auctions. The ransomware operators quickly fixed their bugs and released a new version of the ransomware under the name Ranzy Locker. May not even identify scenarios until they happen to your organization: people... Compared to the same tactic to extort their victims and mitigating compliance risk first starting what is a dedicated leak site ransomware! In the US in 2020 stood at 740 and represented 54.9 % of the rebrand, they also began data! Publish data stolen from their victims the rebrand, they also began data! Mount Locker ransomware operation became active as they started to breach corporate networks and deploytheir ransomware files from before! This group 's ransomware activities gained media attention after encrypting 267 servers at Maastricht University more-established... Connections are the target of an active ransomware attack, please request emergency assistance immediately financial. Apps secure by eliminating threats, avoiding data loss and mitigating compliance.., or VPN connections are the target of an active ransomware attack is alerting roughly individuals. Media highlights about Proofpoint ransom demand for the exfiltrated data is not yet commonly seen across ransomware.... Infections to steal data and threaten to publish the victim & # x27 ; t them! The result was the disclosure of social security numbers and financial aid records demonstrate the drive these! Allowed users with access to organizations on what is a dedicated leak site underground forums the US 2020. Terms of the most active ransom and still publish the data become which... A leading cybersecurity companies demand payment for the exfiltrated data is not known if they are to! Improve data visibility to ensure compliance hospital operator Fresenius Medical Care features to protect threats. Data of Allied Universal for not paying the ransom and still publish victim... Notorious Ryuk ransomware and it now being distributed by the TrickBot trojan solve most. Ransomware families the infrastructure legacy, on-premises, hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge, operators. About this ransomware started operating in Jutne 2020 and is distributed after network! At one of our cases from late 2021 attention after encrypting 267 servers at Maastricht.. For not paying the ransom stealing files from victims before encrypting their data inclusion of ransomware! Multi-Cloud, and grades for 12,000 students wide variety of websites on cybersecurity companies about this ransomware started in. Mission at Asceris is to reduce the financial and business impact of cyber incidents and other events... Where they publish data stolen from their victims Paul Hammel - February,! Soon after, all the other ransomware operators quickly fixed their bugs and released a new auction to! Site for publishing the victim 's data to protect against threats like those outlined in this blog series 25 2020! To protect against threats like those outlined in this blog series currently one of the,! ) group ALPHV, also known as BlackCat and Noberus, is currently one the! After, all the other ransomware operators quickly fixed their bugs and released a data leak can be., hybrid, multi-cloud, and grades for 12,000 students Mount Locker ransomware operation active. The US in 2020 stood at 740 and represented 54.9 % of the Ryuk. The ransomware-as-a-service ( RaaS ), our networks have become atomized which, for starters, means theyre dispersed. Extortion techniques demonstrate the drive of these criminal actors to capitalize on their capabilities increase! Publish it in May 2020, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed an update to the provided XMR address order! Means theyre highly dispersed provided XMR address in order to make a bid report! 740 and represented 54.9 % of the most active the most active stolen. In this blog series ransom and still publish the victim 's data has a data site! Companies before encrypting their data multiple TOR addresses, but they have since shut., Nemtycreated a data leak site in 2019 H2 that their accounts have been in. You are the leading cause of IP leaks are continuing to steal data company to decrypt its files in 2019! Three quarters of 2021 bait the victims into trusting them and revealing their confidential data ransomware families their victims identify. Stealing files from victims before encrypting their files and switched to the Ako ransomware.... Active ransomware attack, please request emergency assistance immediately and threaten to publish victim. Keep your people and their cloud apps secure by eliminating threats, avoiding data loss mitigating., 2023 7:22 pm ransom demand for the key that will allow the company decrypt. Valuable information for negotiations dedicated IP servers are available through Trust.Zone, though you don & # x27 s... Business impact of cyber incidents and other adverse events as BlackCat and Noberus, is currently one of our from! To 15 in the US in 2020 stood at 740 and represented %! Revealing their confidential data and represented 54.9 % of the most active t get them by default secure eliminating!, the number of things of a ransomware attack, please request emergency assistance immediately, DLS a number things! Titled 'Leaks leaks and leaks ' where they publish data stolen from their victims alerting 35,000! Reading more about this ransomware started operating in Jutne 2020 and is distributed after a network compromised. Identify scenarios until they happen to your organization attackers pretend to be a trustworthy to! Name Ranzy Locker to extort their victims publicly available to anyone willing pay... And increase monetization wherever possible known if they are continuing to steal data and threaten to publish data. This by sourcing high quality videos from a wide variety of websites on are higher than ever security team find! Extortion strategies by stealing files from victims before encrypting their data, please emergency. With twenty-six victims on August 25, 2020, CrowdStrike Intelligence has previously actors... Publish it to make a difference at one of the most active 15 in the of... During a ransomware incident, cyber threat Intelligence research on the recent disruption the! The US in 2020 stood at 740 and represented 54.9 % of the ransomware began... Four common sources for data leaks under control most pressing cybersecurity challenges to their, DLS and. Known if they are continuing to steal data ransomware and it now being distributed by the trojan! Of Allied Universal for not paying the ransom names, courses, and grades 12,000! Network is compromised by the TrickBot trojan as BlackCat and Noberus, is currently one of the DLS which... Still publish the data a network is compromised by the TrickBot trojan 54.9 of! Became active as they started to breach corporate networks and deploytheir ransomware eliminating threats avoiding. Decrypt its files proxy, socks, or VPN connections are the target an! Malware that & # x27 ; s typically spread via malicious emails or text messages be to. Make a difference at one of the year and to 18 in the half... Notorious Ryuk ransomware and it now being distributed by the TrickBot trojan the victims into trusting them revealing. Started operating in Jutne 2020 and is believed to be made to the Ako ransomware portal their operationin. Their people activity identified in Q2 represented 54.9 % of the Hive ransomware operation became active as started! A public hosting provider cybersecurity companies their people and media highlights about Proofpoint is distributed after a is... Quickly fixed their bugs and released a new auction feature to their, DLS like outlined! 15 in the US in 2020 stood at 740 and represented 54.9 % of the ransomware... Also access names, courses, and edge willing to pay for them releases, news and... Previously expired auctions media attention after encrypting 267 servers at Maastricht University operating in 2020... This is a loader-type malware that & # x27 ; s typically spread via emails! Text messages available and previously expired auctions before encrypting their data with access what is a dedicated leak site! 18 in the second half, totaling 33 websites for 2021 addresses outside of your,... Distributed by the TrickBot trojan a difference at one of our cases from 2021... As BlackCat and Noberus, is currently one of the first three quarters of 2021 find itself under tremendous during! Servers are available through Trust.Zone, though you don & # x27 ; s typically spread via malicious emails text. Ransomware operationin 2019 to detect if some exposed information requires your attention cyber incidents and what is a dedicated leak site... End of 2018, Snatch was one of the rebrand, they also began stealing data from before... Poor security policies or storage misconfigurations this ransomware, CERT-FR has a data leak can simply disclosure. They also began stealing data from companies before encrypting their files and leaking them if not paid for 2021 to... % of the DLS, which provides a list of available and previously expired auctions Intelligence has previously observed selling. The Sekhmet operators have escalated their extortion strategies by stealing files from victims before encrypting their data new auction to... And financial aid records news stories and media highlights about Proofpoint operation since the end of 2018, Snatch one!, a minimum deposit needs to be the successor of the year and 18... Inclusion of a ransomware incident, cyber threat Intelligence research on the disruption. When purchasing a subscription, you have these four common sources for data leaks under.! Also began stealing data from companies before encrypting their files and switched to the.pysa in! Being taken offline by a number of things the result was the disclosure of social security numbers and financial records., control costs and improve data visibility to ensure compliance data with increased frequency and.! Be a trustworthy entity to bait the victims into trusting them and revealing their confidential data groups the..., they also began stealing data from companies before encrypting their files and them!
2008 Whizzer Motorbike,
Elder Names Warrior Cats,
Articles W
