The cybercriminals behind it rebranded it in an attempt to clear their bad reputation as they scammed other crooks who bought Shark ransomware. Atom is the new name given to the Shark ransomware project. It remains unclear, however, how many instances in which the information sharing resulted in rebranding or merging of ransomware groups. research indicates that BlackMatter is a rebrand of Darkside ransomware. However, groups are rebranding and recalibrating their profiles and tactics to respond to law enforcement and the security community's focus on stopping ransomware attacks. A possible rebranding of the infamous DarkSide gang, BlackMatter has targeted several victims in the U.S. with ransom demands ranging from $80,000 to $15 million. We found a relatively new and interesting ransomware operation that takes inspiration from franchise business models. CONTI ransomware is a malicious computer virus that is designed to encrypt all files on the target system. By Chris Fiormonti. The Shark Ransomware Project has recently rebranded and switched to a new domain in an attempt to start from scratch, calling itself Atom - a . Bad Press Forces Shark Ransomware Project to Rebrand. After the Colonial Pipeline, JBS, and Kaseya cyberattacks, ransomware groups were banned from cybercriminal forums. The Cerber ransomware is no more. Positive Technologies experts have analyzed the Q3 2021 cybersecurity threatscape and found a decrease in the number of unique cyberattacks. As of last week, the malicious tool has rebranded to CRBR. It seems that the operators are rebranding a "supplier" ransomware before deployment instead of simply distributing it under the original name. While the criminal initially discussed a potential ransom of $2 . DoppelPaymer has been around since at least July 2019 and is a member of the BitPaymer ransomware family. Travelex reportedly paid a $2.3m ransom but the loss of trust from customers was lasting. Few ransomware gangs have existed for longer than 18 months. Free Ransomware Decryption Site Celebrates Milestone as New Threats Emerge. The SynAck ransomware gang has released decryption keys for victims that were infected between July 2017 and 2021, according to data obtained by The Record.. SynAck is in the process of rebranding . While the ransomware deployment is limited in scope, the group steals large amounts of data to leverage for extortion. Figure 1. The DoppelPaymer ransomware activity started to decline in mid-May, about a week after DarkSide ransomware's attack on Colonial Pipeline. Despite these shutdowns, the threat of ransomware attacks remains high. SophosLabs decided to take a closer look at the malware and the claims being made by the new . Date breach lawsuit roundup. • Although the Avaddon ransomware group closed its operation and issued decryption keys for victims, Haron subsequently emerged with some notable Here's why ransomware gangs are now rebranding themselves as 'white hat'. The ongoing rebranding seems to have been prompted by the advisory issued by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to impose sanctions on those who pay ransoms to cybercriminals, coupled with the close collaboration . Even if it is a lie. A rebrand of UNC2190, Sabbath has targeted U.S. and Canadian critical infrastructure. Debut and Rebranding: Ads for Blackmatter ransomware went up on cyber underground forums in July. Same ransomware, new label? Posted on 06-01-2022 Our CEO Mathieu Gorge gave some explanations in this very interesting article from the Entrepreneur Media magazine: Why ransomware gangs love rebranding? "On November 1, BlackMatter claimed it was shutting down operations following pressure from local law . The operators publish details of all victims regardless of whether they pay or not. We tracked 62 different ransomware groups and their activities since January 2020. Sabbath, a rebrand of the ransomware group Arcane, "is unfortunately not slowing down" in its attacks, Tyler McLellan, principal analyst at Mandiant, said in a statement. Once it compromises the target system, it uses AES-256 encryption key per file, then encrypts all of them with RSA-4096 key.To mark affected files, the ransomware adds .CONTI extension after the original file extension. Ransomware actors will want to avoid American infrastructure to avoid a US military response." Several factors may prompt the bigger #ransomware groups to start hunting smaller game again. • This involved either full file dumps, screenshots, or samples. Developers may be trying to . An under-the-radar ransomware group that's been attacking schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure has tried to cover its tracks by rebranding, according to findings from researchers at Mandiant. As Europol celebrated the fifth anniversary of its anti-ransomware initiative this week . A researcher figures out how to decrypt a ransomware variant Identity crisis: Why ransomware groups rebrand — and disappear. Ransomware operators are trying to rebrand with a lower profile to avoid press, law enforcement attention. A spokesman for the ransomware group most commonly called BlackCat confirmed its lineage as part of the Dark Side/BlackMatter family in an interview with a threat analyst at Recorded Future, and . After breaching the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., in early 2021, the hacker group Babuk said it would move beyond ransomware attacks and focus on data theft instead. Along with helping control the effects of COVID-19, it has been a prime . More on CCPA enforcement. In May 2021, Babuk rebranded as "payload bin," redesigning its data leak website. Moreover, reinvention allows cybercriminals to evade law enforcement because of the disparate nature of such techniques. This led many to conclude that PayloadBin was essentially a rebranding of . It is widely believed that REvil is already a rebrand of a previous ransomware operation, with the actors behind it probably being the same as those behind an old ransomware strain known as GandCrab. Furthermore, both the Hive and Vice Society ransomware groups surfaced in June 2021, following a trend of ransomware groups rebranding in attempts to evade law enforcement and takedown efforts. Ryuk threatened to put healthcare organizations, already overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, at further risk of disruption last year. While some of these were merely rebranded variations of previous ransomware strains, such as Maze rebranding to Egregor or DarkSide renaming itself BlackMatter, most of these groups are unique threats that have emerged for a few months at a time in smaller volumes. . In October 2021, for instance, the threat group . This was mainly caused by some major ransomware players leaving the market. But groups often don't effectively rebrand. Research from cybersecurity specialist finds ransomware attacks are declining, and ransomware operators have started "rebranding." Positive Technologies Reports Decrease In Unique Cyberattacks Dec. 23, 2021 - Positive Technologies experts have analyzed the Q3 2021 cybersecurity threatscape and found a decrease in the number of unique cyberattacks. It's not because criminals disband. Ransomware attacks decrease, operators started rebranding. Positive Technologies experts have analyzed the Q3 2021 cybersecurity threatscape and found a decrease in the number of unique . Ransomware Operators Found Using New "Franchise" Business Model . The group was observed changing not only its name, logo, and color schemes as part of rebranding efforts, but also making technical changes to the affiliate model. Several ransomware operations have either shut down or been taken down by law enforcement over the past few months, including the notorious REvil ransomware operation, which was believed to be a rebranding of the GandCrab ransomware operation. Feature This summer, Abnormal Security discovered that some of its customers' staff were receiving emails inviting them to install ransomware on a company computer in return for a $1m share of the "profits".. o Unlikely to be true shutdown, more likely rebranding to avoid attention . DoppelPaymer ransomware gang rebrands as the Grief group. The easiest way to scare enterprises these days is to announce a new ransomware threat, but experts are unsure if doxware is a worrying new ransomware trend or a rebranding of extortionware. According to a Positive Technologies report, the number of attacks in Q3 2021 decreased by 4.8% as compared to Q2 2021. Similar to the corporate world, where companies merge, talent moves from established businesses to shiny new startups, or companies like Intel Security (formerly McAfee) rebrand themselves, ransomware gangs are mirroring these methods more than ever . HHS . ALPHV (BlackCat) Ransomware. #cybersecurity #respectdata Click to Tweet In late July, a new RaaS appeared on the scene. Law enforcement, C . Rebranding, code sharing, or the purchase of source code by different threat actors are practical possibilities to get back into extortion operations as seen in previous cases such as SODINOKIBI's connections with GANDCRAB ransomware, or the rebuild and rebrand of a new ransomware using another's code base such as BLACKMATTER. In this blog, we will compare the similarities between DoppelPaymer and Grief ransomware. The ransomware itself is still active, but now goes by a different name. The most dangerous ransomware groups might have gone dark. . Jeff Goldman. The keys were made available earlier today via a private message sent to Bleeping Computer , a ransomware support forum and news site that has been covering the ransomware scene since 2016. Ransomware attacks against the industrial sector fell to 32 percent in Q3 2021, down from 80 percent in Q2 2021. Q3 is memorable for the return of some old players to the fold and the rebranding of active ransomware groups. After a period of little to no activity, the DoppelPaymer ransomware operation has made a rebranding move, now going by the name Grief (a . Targets range across several industries with an emphasis on manufacturing. HHS: Ransomware groups will continue focus on healthcare, leveraging legacy tech. Ransomware attacks are on the rise. "UNC2190 has continued to operate over the past year while making only minor changes to their strategies and tooling, including the introduction of a commercial packer and the rebranding of their service offering," Mandiant concluded. The group emerged in April 2019, but likely developed by the creators of GandCrab, a ransomware group that emerged in January 2018. 48 ransomware incidents in the United States healthcare sector tracked by HC3 this year, for at least 72% of the ransomware incidents, victim data was leaked. The difference lies in what they do with the exploits they uncover. The bottom line. According to security researchers from Microsoft's counter-ransomware unit, DarkSide and its BlackMatter rebrand is the handiwork of a cybercrime group tracked as FIN7, which was recently unmasked operating a front company named Bastion Secure to lure tech professionals with the goal of launching ransomware attacks. Infamous ransomware gangs are rebranding and preparing to strike. The SynAck ransomware gang released the master decryption keys for their operation after rebranding as the new El_Cometa group. After the Colonial Pipeline attack, for example, Darkside was banned from many cybercrime forums for attacking a provider of critical infrastructure - prompting the decision to reform . The rebranding to Grief ransomware comes following a period of little to no activity and it is still unclear if any of the original developers are still behind this ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation. Meanwhile, Turkish infosec firm Picus Security's Dr Süleyman Özarslan said: "Ransomware gangs are highly resilient and typically rebrand in six-month cycles. Ransomware groups often rebrand as it enables them to reboot, lay down ground rules, and payment agreements for affiliates. The BlackCat ransomware gang, also known as ALPHV, has acknowledged that it is comprised of former members of the famed BlackMatter/DarkSide ransomware operation. Close. The master decryption key can decrypt all files, regardless of the victim, that had previously been encrypted by FonixCrypter. "Although UNC2190 is a lesser-known and potentially a smaller ransomware affiliate group, its smaller size and repeated rebranding has allowed it to avoid much public scrutiny," says the report. It seems to indicate the ransomware operators are going to extreme lengths to avoid unwanted police attention. Third-party researchers have corroborated this finding by analyzing ransomware samples and cryptocurrency wallets. News - Breaches & Ransoms. SynAck is in the process of rebranding . Although UNC2190 is a lesser known and potentially a smaller ransomware affiliate group, it's smaller size and repeated rebranding has allowed it to avoid much public scrutiny. At a glance. Instead, a trend to rebrand ransomware cartels has taken hold. However, now it seems that the GandCrab team has already begun preparations for the rebranding. There has also been a significant shift away from high-profile American targets to mid-sized targets . This helps to explain why some ransomware gangs spent the summer of 2021 rebranding themselves. Criminals are not known for telling the truth, but what they say is usually the only explanation for a disappearance. When the ransomware group eventually realises, or learns via public reports, that their ransomware is fundamentally flawed, they often either abandon it, fix the flaw, or start fresh with a rebrand. Ransomware attackers dominated headlines in 2021 targeting larger organizations with even bigger ransom requests catching attention of both law enforcement and CISA. 2. One is the mobilization of the US and other international intelligence and law enforcement agencies. 3. The alert also states that different ransomware groups in Eurasia are sharing information with each other. The ransomware is upping its danger quotient with new features while signaling a rebranding to "AstroLocker." "Ransomware is primarily a profit . Ransomware gang targeting schools, hospitals reinvents itself to avoid scrutiny (CyberScoop) An under-the-radar ransomware group that's been attacking schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure has tried to cover its tracks by rebranding, according to findings from researchers at Mandiant. As the threat of ransomware continues to grow, cybercrime gangs are taking a page out of the corporate America marketing playbook: branding. Both ransomware leak sites are nearly identical, including shared code that displays a captcha to prevent automated crawling as shown in Figure 1. First detected on 15 August, 2016, Shark is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platform that allows computer criminals with low levels of technical expertise to sit at the adult table and distribute . Grief ransomware, also known as GriefOrPay, is thought to be a rebrand of the DoppelPaymer ransomware. The health care industry has been on the front lines a lot lately. According to the research, while attacks on computers, servers, and network equipment have dropped, attackers have developed a penchant for data, leading to an increase in the usage of RATs. If that's correct, it would appear to be the latest in a long line of rebranding by the group from its original BitPaymer effort in a bid to circumvent US sanctions. Ransomware. However, there's been an increase in the share of attacks against individuals, and also a rise in attacks involving remote . Ransomware rebranding? When ransomware operations encrypt files, they usually generate . Since the November introduction of BlackCat ransomware, the LockBit ransomware gang's spokesman has indicated that ALPHV/BlackCat is a rebranding of DarkSide/BlackMatter. With an administration vocally committed to stopping ransomware in its tracks, FBI and CISA . The Rise and Rebranding of Ransomware in 2021. Jessica Davis October 15, 2021. Another ransomware family tied to Evil Corp. and the Dridex gang is WastedLocker, which is the latest name of a ransomware strain that has rebranded several times since 2019. Sabbath, a rebrand of the ransomware group . It encrypts files on infected systems until the victim pays the required amount. Posted by 2 days ago. The rebranding initiatives in a number of instances are bringing about a rise in crypto prices last observed in at the height of 2017's bitcoin bubble. Four scenarios of how ransomware variants are decrypted are outlined below: Scenario 1. A Rebranding Wave Taken together, OFAC's announcement and the attention generated by the Colonial Pipeline incident made it more difficult for ransomware groups to continue doing business in their existing operations. Researchers with Mandiant detailed a threat group called UNC2190, which is an operator behind an affiliate ransomware program. Atom is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and is keeping the 80:20 percent ratio money split from the previous project in favor of those who . But it only means they are rebranding, evolving their tactics, and preparing to strike even more fiercely. December 15, 2021. July 30, 2021. January 2022. Following news that members of the infamous 'big-game hunter' ransomware group REvil have been arrested by Russian law enforcement, effectively dismantling the group and their operations, it is likely that the group's affiliates will migrate to other ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) providers. While the reason behind rebranding from DoppelPaymer to Grief is not apparent, it happened after the Colonial Pipeline incident. A spokesman for the ransomware group most commonly called BlackCat confirmed its lineage as part of the Dark Side/BlackMatter family in an interview with a threat analyst at Recorded Future, and . When groups rebrand, security researchers track the same affiliates using the new ransomware family if the old one was retired, Miller-Osborn said. Calling itself BlackMatter, the ransomware claims to fill the void left by DarkSide and REvil - adopting the best tools and techniques from each of them, as well as from the still-active LockBit 2.0. Why ransomware gangs love rebranding? However, October was the same month BlackMatter appeared to claim its last victim. At the end of April, researchers from Cisco Talos discovered a ransomware strain called Sodinokibi, which was used to deploy GandCrab. Taking these factors into account, it is likely this is yet another ransomware group pretending to shut down, when in reality, it is just a rebrand and launch of a new improved version sometime . It was first noticed in December 2019 and is still active nowadays. There were 1,396 in 2020, according to Ransom-DB, which tracks such . The SynAck ransomware gang has released decryption keys for victims that were infected between July 2017 and 2021, according to data obtained by The Record . FonixCrypter ransomware gave up its criminal life in January and released a decryption tool and its master decryption key. On the surface, doxware and extortionware seem to be the same thing: malware variants that combine the data hostage threat of ransomware with the added . The criminal group behind the Avaddon ransomware has shut down its operation today and released decryption keys for past victims. Shark ransomware has rebranded itself as the Atom ransomware affiliate program but has kept a favorable payment model to attract criminal customers. That includes education, natural resources and health sectors. Ransomware threat groups often rebrand the name of the malware as a diversion. the United States while the Vice Society ransomware group are likely to continue to target the health sector both in the United States and abroad. Two new ransomware groups, BlackMatter and Haron, have recently emerged on the scene, but as Threatpost reports, experts say the new kids on the block might just be the resurrection of recently deceased threat groups.South Korean security firm S2W Lab quickly noticed Haron's . "They . Analysis shows a significant degree of code sharing between Spook and the Prometheus and Thanos ransomware families. A ransomware operator has continually rebranded itself over the past year in order to evade detection, while launching cyberattacks on critical infrastructure across several industries. A room in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Providence St. Mary Medical Center. On the surface, 'white hat' hackers don't differ a great deal from their 'black hat' peers, in that they strive to expose vulnerabilities in digital systems through various means. Ransomware operators are trying to rebrand with a lower profile to avoid press, law enforcement attention. Hospital Ransomware Attacks Go Beyond Health Care Data. Spook Ransomware is an emerging player first seen in late September 2021. Ransomware attacks decrease, operators started rebranding. As with other ransomware operations, Sabbath is believed to operate largely on the ransomware-as-a-service model where the operators hire individual "affiliate" hackers to do the on-the-ground work of actually infiltrating networks and installing the ransomware.. Part of the danger posed by the Sabbath ransomware operation is that the group has been able to evade detection due to several factors. ransomware gangs and RaaS . . And on Wednesday, some analysts said that BlackCat, the ransomware group possibly behind a recent attack on two German oil companies, is likely another rebrand. In Mandiant's 2021 Trends and 2022 Predictions report, ransomware data theft operations affecting healthcare are noted as having increased from January 2020 to June . Michael Gillespie, the creator of the ID Ransomware service, explained that aside from WastedLocker, the group has used "Hades" and "Phoenix" as new names for the same . When Abnormal staff set up a fake persona and contacted the criminals to play along, though, things started to fall apart.

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