ALPHV ransomware

January 28, 2022

Who Wrote the ALPHV/BlackCat Ransomware Strain?

This post was originally published on this siteIn December 2021, researchers discovered a new ransomware-as-a-service named ALPHV (a.k.a. “BlackCat“), considered to be the first professional cybercrime group to create and use a ransomware strain written in the Rust programming language. In this post, we’ll explore some of the clues left behind by a developer who was reputedly hired to code the ransomware variant. Image: Varonis. According to an analysis released this week by Varonis, ALPHV is actively recruiting operators from several ransomware organizations — including REvil, BlackMatter and DarkSide — and is offering affiliates up to 90 percent of any […]
June 14, 2022

Ransomware Group Debuts Searchable Victim Data

This post was originally published on this siteCybercrime groups that specialize in stealing corporate data and demanding a ransom not to publish it have tried countless approaches to shaming their victims into paying. The latest innovation in ratcheting up the heat comes from the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group, which has traditionally published any stolen victim data on the Dark Web. Today, however, the group began publishing individual victim websites on the public Internet, with the leaked data made available in an easily searchable form. The ALPHV site claims to care about people’s privacy, but they let anyone view the sensitive stolen […]
December 19, 2023

BlackCat Ransomware Raises Ante After FBI Disruption

This post was originally published on this siteThe U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disclosed today that it infiltrated the world’s second most prolific ransomware gang, a Russia-based criminal group known as ALPHV and BlackCat. The FBI said it seized the gang’s darknet website, and released a decryption tool that hundreds of victim companies can use to recover systems. Meanwhile, BlackCat responded by briefly “unseizing” its darknet site with a message promising 90 percent commissions for affiliates who continue to work with the crime group, and open season on everything from hospitals to nuclear power plants. A slightly modified version […]
February 1, 2024

Arrests in $400M SIM-Swap Tied to Heist at FTX?

This post was originally published on this siteThree Americans were charged this week with stealing more than $400 million in a November 2022 SIM-swapping attack. The U.S. government did not name the victim organization, but there is every indication that the money was stolen from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had just filed for bankruptcy on that same day. A graphic illustrating the flow of more than $400 million in cryptocurrencies stolen from FTX on Nov. 11-12, 2022. Image: Elliptic.co. An indictment unsealed this week and first reported on by Ars Technica alleges that Chicago man Robert Powell, a.k.a. […]