Categories: Technology

The Week in Ransomware – October 29th 2021 – Making arrests

The Week in Ransomware – October 29th 2021 – Making arrests

This week, international law enforcement operations went on the offensive, making arrests in numerous countries for ransomware-related activities.

Today, Europol announced that twelve individuals were arrested today for their links to over 1,800 ransomware attacks in 71 countries.

Also Read: What You Need to Know About Singapore’s Data Sharing Arrangements

The arrested hackers include affiliates and penetration testers for the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Dharma operations, including those suspected to be behind the 2019 attack against Norsk Hydro.

German law enforcement is also believed to have identified core member of the REvil ransomware gang.

The other big news this week is the revealment of a BlackMatter decryptor created by Emsisoft that has been secretly used to help victims recover their files without paying a ransom.

Avast also released two decryptors this week – one for Babuk Ransomware and another that decrypts files encrypted by Atom Silo and LockFile files.

Finally, the NRA suffered ransomware attack by the Grief ransomware operation, which is linked to the US sanctioned Evil Corp hacking group.

Today, the Grief gang removed their NRA from their data leak site, indicating that the NRA may have paid the ransom demand.

Contributors and those who provided new ransomware information and stories this week include: @serghei@fwosar@malwareforme@malwrhunterteam@DanielGallagher@Ionut_Ilascu@LawrenceAbrams@jorntvdw@Seifreed@struppigel@BleepinComputer@FourOctets@billtoulas@demonslay335@VK_Intel,@PolarToffee@BrettCallow@menlosecurity@hatr@maxzierer@emsisoft@HuntressLabs@calebjstewart@_JohnHammond@pancak3lullz@GelosSnake@AltShiftPrtScn@Sophos@R44MB00@sonatype@Avast@ddd1ms@fbgwls245@Amigo_A_@ESETresearch, and @pcrisk.

Also Read: PDPA Compliance for HR Managers in Singapore: A Must

October 23rd 2021

New BigBossHorse ransomware variant

dnwls0719 found a new BigBossHorse ransomware variant called ‘WhiteHorse’ that appends the .WhiteHorse extension.

October 24th 2021

BlackMatter ransomware victims quietly helped using secret decryptor

Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft has been secretly decrypting BlackMatter ransomware victims since this summer, saving victims millions of dollars.

October 25th 2021

Hackers used billing software zero-day to deploy ransomware

An unknown ransomware group is exploiting a critical SQL injection bug found in the BillQuick Web Suite time and billing solution to deploy ransomware on their targets’ networks in ongoing attacks.

New Dharma Ransomware variant

PCrisk found a new Dharma Ransomware variant that appends the .lsas extension.

October 26th 2021

FBI: Ranzy Locker ransomware hit at least 30 US companies this year

The FBI said on Monday that Ranzy Locker ransomware operators had compromised at least 30 US companies this year from various industry sectors.

An interview with LockBit: The risk of being hacked ourselves is always present

Even though the LockBit ransomware group has been operating since September 2019, up until June this year, they have been a marginal player on the ransomware landscape.

New STOP Ransomware variant

PCrisk found a new STOP Ransomware variant that appends the .rugj extension.

October 27th 2021

Malicious NPM libraries install ransomware, password stealer

Malicious NPM packages pretending to be Roblox libraries are delivering ransomware and password-stealing trojans on unsuspecting users.

Babuk ransomware decryptor released to recover files for free

Czech cybersecurity software firm Avast has created and released a decryption tool to help Babuk ransomware victims recover their files for free.

Free decryptor released for Atom Silo and LockFile ransomware

Avast has just released a decryption tool that will help AtomSilo and LockFile ransomware victims recover some of their files for free without having to pay a ransom.

NRA: No comment on Russian ransomware gang attack claims

The Grief ransomware gang claims to have attacked the National Rifle Association (NRA) and released stolen data as proof of the attack.

October 28th 2021

Ransomware gangs use SEO poisoning to infect visitors

Researchers have spotted two campaigns linked to either the REvil ransomware gang or the SolarMarker backdoor that use SEO poisoning to serve payloads to targets.

German investigators identify REvil ransomware gang core member

German investigators have reportedly identified a Russian man whom they believe to be one of REvil ransomware gang’s core members, one of the most notorious and successful ransomware groups in recent years.

The Top 10 Ways Ransomware Operators Ramp Up the Pressure to Pay

Ransomware operators don’t just target systems and data, they target people in their ever-increasing efforts to get the victim to pay

New STOP Ransomware variant

PCrisk found a new STOP Ransomware variant that appends the .rivd extension.

New Owl Ransomware

Amigo-A found the new Owl Ransomware that appends the .(OwL) extension and drops ransom notes named !README!.txt and !README!.hta.

New Sabbath ransomware

Amigo-A found the new Owl Ransomware that appends the .54bb47h extension to encrypted files.

October 29th 2021

Police arrest hackers behind over 1,800 ransomware attacks

Europol has announced the arrest of 12 individuals believed to be linked to ransomware attacks against 1,800 victims in 71 countries.

Hive ransomware now encrypts Linux and FreeBSD systems

The Hive ransomware gang now also encrypts Linux and FreeBSD using new malware variants specifically developed to target these platforms.

That’s it for this week! Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Privacy Ninja

Recent Posts

Enhancing Website Security: The Importance of Efficient Access Controls

Importance of Efficient Access Controls that every Organisation in Singapore should take note of. Enhancing…

2 weeks ago

Prioritizing Security Measures When Launching Webpage

Prioritizing Security Measures When Launching a Webpage That Every Organisation in Singapore should take note…

3 weeks ago

The Importance of Regularly Changing Passwords for Enhanced Online Security

Importance of Regularly Changing Passwords for Enhance Online Security that every Organisation in Singapore should…

3 weeks ago

Mitigating Human Errors in Organizations: A Comprehensive Approach to Data Protection and Operational Integrity

Comprehensive Approach to Data Protection and Operational Integrity that every Organsiation in Singapore should know…

4 weeks ago

The Importance of Pre-Launch Testing in IT Systems Implementation

Here's the importance of Pre-Launch Testing in IT Systems Implementation for Organisations in Singapore. The…

1 month ago

Understanding Liability in IT Vendor Relationships

Understanding Liability in IT Vendor Relationships that every Organisation in Singapore should look at. Understanding…

1 month ago