For this week’s ‘Week in Ransomware’ article we have included the latest ransomware news over the past two weeks.
The biggest news over the past two weeks is the unsealing of a United States’ Complaint for Forfeiture detailing how the FBI seized 39.89138522 bitcoins from an Exodus wallet belonging to an REvil affiliate. Based on the email listed in the court document, it is believed that the affiliate is one known as ‘Lalartu.’
We also learned that the BlackByte ransomware gang exploits the Microsoft Exchange ProxyShell vulnerabilities to gain initial access to internal networks. Therefore, make sure to update your servers.
The FBI also disclosed that Cuba ransomware has attacked 49 US critical infrastructure orgs and received at least US $43.9 million in ransom payments.
Finally, some of the attacks we learned about over the past two weeks include Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, Swire Pacific Offshore, and Correos Express.
Contributors and those who provided new ransomware information and stories this week include: @fwosar, @DanielGallagher, @BleepinComputer, @PolarToffee, @malwrhunterteam, @Ionut_Ilascu, @jorntvdw, @Seifreed, @FourOctets, @billtoulas, @struppigel, @demonslay335, @serghei, @VK_Intel, @malwareforme, @LawrenceAbrams, @redcanary, @John_Fokker, @Mandiant, @siri_urz, @teachemtechy, @fbgwls245, @pcrisk, @Kangxiaopao, @Amigo_A, and @ValeryMarchive.
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Vestas Wind Systems, a leader in wind turbine manufacturing, has shut down its IT systems after suffering a cyberattack.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI warned critical infrastructure partners and public/private sector organizations not to let down their defenses against ransomware attacks during the holiday season.
PCrisk found a new Dharma ransomware variant that appends the .NEEH extension.
dnwls0719 found a new Thanos variant that appends the .xot5ik extension.
PCrisk found a new STOP ransomware variant that appends the .robm extension.
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xiaopao found a new Av Ghost ransomware that appends the AvGhost extension and drops a ransom note named AvGhost.txt.
Marine services giant Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO) has suffered a Clop ransomware attack that allowed threat actors to steal company data.
Zack Allen found a new ransomware called ‘Rook’ that is based on Babuk and appends the .rook extension to encrypted files.
PCrisk found a new STOP ransomware variant that appends the .rigj extension.
PCrisk found a new Phobos ransomware variant that appends the .XIIIextension.
An affiliate of the recently discovered Yanluowang ransomware operation is focusing its attacks on U.S. organizations in the financial sector using BazarLoader malware in the reconnaissance stage.
The FBI seized $2.3 million in August from a well-known REvil and GandCrab ransomware affiliate, according to court documents seen by BleepingComputer.
Siri found a new Blue Locker that appends the .blue extension to encrypted files.
The BlackByte ransomware gang is now breaching corporate networks by exploiting Microsoft Exchange servers using the ProxyShell vulnerabilities.
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles has disclosed a data breach after suffering a ransomware attack in October that exposed the personal information of approximately 400,000 patients.
The Spanish specialist in express parcel delivery Correos Express seems to be having difficulties in providing its services. A sample of Hive ransomware suggests a cyberattack that occurred around November 27.
PCrisk found a new STOP ransomware variant that appends the .moiaextension.
Siri found a new ransomware calling itself ‘Hello’ that uses an interesting ransom note and appends the .hello extension.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed that the Cuba ransomware gang has compromised the networks of at least 49 organizations from US critical infrastructure sectors.
DailyMail allegedly tracked down Yeveniy Polyanin, a member of the REvil ransomware group.
dnwls0719 found a new Makop ransomware variant that appends the .mkp extension.
PCrisk found a new STOP ransomware variant that appends the .yqalextension.
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