In both cases, we found that the threat group threatened to publish exfiltrated data, increasing the pressure over time to make the payment. People who follow the cybercrime landscape likely already realize that 2021 was the worst year to date in terms of companies affected by data breaches. Researchers only found one new data leak site in 2019 H2. The dedicated leak site, which has been taken down, appeared to have been created to make the stolen information easily accessible to employees and guests, thus pressuring the hotelier into paying a ransom. 5. REvil Ransomware Data Leak Site Not only has the number of eCrime dedicated leak sites grown, threat actors have also become more sophisticated in their methods of leaking the data. My mission is to scan the ever-evolving cybercrime landscape to inform the public about the latest threats. They can be configured for public access or locked down so that only authorized users can access data. Learn about our unique people-centric approach to protection. Similar to many other ransomware operators, the threat actors added a link to their dedicated leak site (DLS), as shown in Figure 1. Ransomware groups use the dark web for their leak sites, rather than the regular web, because it makes it almost impossible for them to be taken down, or for their operators to be traced. Learn more about information security and stay protected. Learn about the technology and alliance partners in our Social Media Protection Partner program. DNS leaks can be caused by a number of things. 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. They were publicly available to anyone willing to pay for them. Edme is an incident response analyst at Asceris working on business email compromise cases, ransomware investigations, and tracking cyber threat groups and malware families. A notice on the district's site dated April 23, 2021 acknowledged a data security incident that was impacting their systems, but did not provide any specifics. In February 2020, DoppelPaymer launched a dedicated leak site that they call "Dopple Leaks" and have threatened to sell data on the dark web if a victim does not pay. 2023. The attackers pretend to be a trustworthy entity to bait the victims into trusting them and revealing their confidential data. The attacker can now get access to those three accounts. 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. | News, Posted: June 17, 2022 The conventional tools we rely on to defend corporate networks are creating gaps in network visibility and in our capabilities to secure them. In Q3, this included 571 different victims as being named to the various active data leak sites. 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. Not just in terms of the infrastructure legacy, on-premises, hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge. 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. This episode drew renewed attention to double extortion tactics because not only was a security vendor being targeted, it was an apparent attempt to silence a prominent name in the security industry. Dissatisfied employees leaking company data. It also provides a level of reassurance if data has not been released, as well as an early warning of potential further attacks. . Egregor began operating in the middle of September, just as Maze started shutting down their operation. Some groups auction the data to the highest bidder, others only publish the data if the ransom isnt paid. With ransom notes starting with "Hi Company"and victims reporting remote desktop hacks, this ransomware targets corporate networks. Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts, Taking a Personal Approach to Identity Will Mitigate Fraud Risk & Ensure a Great Customer Experience, The Next Frontier of Security in the Age of Cloud, Effective Security Management, 7th Edition. So, wouldn't this make the site easy to take down, and leave the operators vulnerable? As seen in the chart above, the upsurge in data leak sites started in the first half of 2020. In our recent May ransomware review, only BlackBasta and the prolific LockBit accounted for more known attacks in the last month. Become a channel partner. CrowdStrike Intelligence has previously observed actors selling access to organizations on criminal underground forums. Using WhatLeaks you can see your IP address, country, country code, region, city, latitude, longitude, timezone, ISP (Internet Service Provider), and DNS details of the server your browser makes requests to WhatLeaks with. If a ransom was not paid, the threat actor presented them as available for purchase (rather than publishing the exfiltrated documents freely). A data leak site (DLS) is exactly that - a website created solely for the purpose of selling stolen data obtained after a successful ransomware attack. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. In May 2020, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed an update to the Ako ransomware portal. sergio ramos number real madrid. Help your employees identify, resist and report attacks before the damage is done. 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. In another example of escalatory techniques, SunCrypt explained that a target had stopped communicating for 48 hours mid-negotiation. Copyright 2023 Wired Business Media. For threat groups that are known to use Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, the leak site can be useful as an advanced warning (as in the case of the SunCrypt threat group that was discussed earlier in this article). Loyola University computers containing sensitive student information had been disposed of without wiping the hard drives. It leverages a vulnerability in recent Intel CPUs to leak secrets from the processor itself: on most 10th, 11th and 12th generation Intel CPUs the APIC MMIO undefined range incorrectly returns stale data from the cache hierarchy. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company. Deliver Proofpoint solutions to your customers and grow your business. 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. It is possible that the site was created by an affiliate, that it was created by mistake, or that this was only an experiment. 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. Click the "Network and Sharing Center" option. Payment for delete stolen files was not received. Source. (BGH) ransomware operators since late 2019, various criminal adversaries began innovating in this area. Click that. Started in September 2019, LockBit is a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) where the developers are in charge of the payment site and development and 'affiliates' sign up to distribute the ransomware. She has a background in terrorism research and analysis, and is a fluent French speaker. The new tactic seems to be designed to create further pressure on the victim to pay the ransom. help you have the best experience while on the site. Most recently, Snake released the patient data for the French hospital operator Fresenius Medical Care. Follow us on LinkedIn or subscribe to our RSS feed to make sure you dont miss our next article. block. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing, This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. Got only payment for decrypt 350,000$. When a leak auction title is clicked, it takes the bidder to a detailed page containing Login and Registration buttons, as shown in Figure 2. Operated as a private Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), Conti released a data leak site with twenty-six victims on August 25, 2020. Findings reveal that the second half of 2021 was a record period in terms of new data leak sites created on the dark web. Some threat actors provide sample documents, others dont. For those interesting in reading more about this ransomware, CERT-FR has a great report on their TTPs. Also, fraudsters promise to either remove or not make the stolen data publicly available on the dark web. The Maze Cartel creates benefits for the adversaries involved, and potential pitfalls for victims. The overall trend of exfiltrating, selling and outright leaking victim data will likely continue as long as organizations are willing to pay ransoms. Sign up now to receive the latest notifications and updates from CrowdStrike. The FBI dismantled the network of the prolific Hive ransomware gang and seized infrastructure in Los Angeles that was used for the operation. Many ransom notes left by attackers on systems they've crypto-locked, for example,. Learn more about the incidents and why they happened in the first place. This feature allows users to bid for leak data or purchase the data immediately for a specified Blitz Price. Payments are only accepted in Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency. DarkSide https[:]//news.sophos[.]com/en-us/2020/09/17/maze-attackers-adopt-ragnar-locker-virtual-machine-technique/. Get deeper insight with on-call, personalized assistance from our expert team. However, that is not the case. SunCrypt are known to use multiple techniques to keep the target at the negotiation table including triple-extortion (launching DDoS attacks should ransom negotiations fail) and multi-extortion techniques (threatening to expose the breach to employees, stakeholders and the media or leaving voicemails to employees). But while all ransomware groups share the same objective, they employ different tactics to achieve their goal. All Rights Reserved BNP Media. Data exfiltration risks for insiders are higher than ever. All Rights Reserved. For a new ransomware, it has been involved in some fairly large attacks that targeted Crytek, Ubisoft, and Barnes and Noble. 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. However, the apparent collaboration between members of the Maze Cartel is more unusual and has the potential to alter the TTPs used in the ransomware threat landscape. Contact your local rep. This blog explores operators of, ) demanding two ransoms from victims, PINCHY SPIDERs auctioning of stolen data and TWISTED SPIDERs creation of the self-named Maze Cartel., Twice the Price: Ako Operators Demand Separate Ransoms. Though all threat groups are motivated to maximise profit, SunCrypt and PLEASE_READ_ME adopted different techniques to achieve this. Registered user leak auction page, A minimum deposit needs to be made to the provided XMR address in order to make a bid. Data leak sites are usually dedicated dark web pages that post victim names and details. AKO ransomware began operating in January 2020 when they started to target corporate networks with exposed remote desktop services. The Lockbit ransomware outfit has now established a dedicated site to leak stolen private data, enabling it to extort selected targets twice. The result was the disclosure of social security numbers and financial aid records. and cookie policy to learn more about the cookies we use and how we use your In operation since the end of 2018, Snatch was one of the first ransomware infections to steal data and threaten to publish it. Misconfigured S3 buckets are so common that there are sites that scan for misconfigured S3 buckets and post them for anyone to review. Visit our privacy Other groups adopted the technique, increasing the pressure by providing a timeframe for the victims to pay up and showcasing a countdown along with screenshots proving the theft of data displayed on the wall of shame. We share our recommendations on how to use leak sites during active ransomware incidents. In case of not contacting us in 3 business days this data will be published on a special website available for public view," states Sekhmet's ransom note. 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. Some of the actors share similar tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), including an initial aversion to targeting frontline healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are indications that adversaries are emulating successful techniques demonstrated by other members of the cartel. Maze shut down their ransomware operation in November 2020. Proofpoint can take you from start to finish to design a data loss prevention plan and implement it. Maze is responsible for numerous high profile attacks, including ones against cyber insurer Chubb, the City of Pensacola,Bouygues Construction, and Banco BCR. 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. come with many preventive features to protect against threats like those outlined in this blog series. Cuba ransomware launched in December 2020 and utilizes the .cuba extension for encrypted files. Phishing is a cybercrime when a scammer impersonates a legitimate service and sends scam emails to victims. However, TWISTED SPIDER made no reference to the inclusion of WIZARD SPIDER, and the duplication is potentially the result of the victims facing two intrusions by separate ransomware actors, or data being sold by WIZARD SPIDER to other threat actors.. At this precise moment, we have more than 1,000 incidents of Facebook data leaks registered on the Axur One platform! S3 buckets are cloud storage spaces used to upload files and data. 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. 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. It was even indexed by Google, Malwarebytes says. You will be the first informed about your data leaks so you can take actions quickly. 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. Make sure you have these four common sources for data leaks under control. Sitemap, Intelligent Classification and Protection, Managed Services for Security Awareness Training, Managed Services for Information Protection, Request a Free Trial of Proofpoint ITM Platform, 2022 Ponemon Cost of Insider Threats Global Report. The AKO ransomware gangtold BleepingComputer that ThunderX was a development version of their ransomware and that AKO rebranded as Razy Locker. It was even indexed by Google. Avaddon ransomware began operating in June2020 when they launched in a spam campaign targeting users worldwide. To start a conversation or to report any errors or omissions, please feel free to contact the author directly. Currently, the best protection against ransomware-related data leaks is prevention. We downloaded confidential and private data. Data leak sites are yet another tactic created by attackers to pressure victims into paying as soon as possible. As eCrime adversaries seek to further monetize their efforts, these trends will likely continue, with the auctioning of data occurring regardless of whether or not the original ransom is paid. They directed targeted organisations to a payment webpage on the Tor network (this page and related Onion domains were unavailable as of 1 August 2022) where the victims entered their unique token mapping them to their stolen database. In October, the ransomware operation released a data leak site called "Ranzy Leak," which was strangely using the same Tor onion URL as the AKO Ransomware. We carry out open source research, threat group analysis, cryptocurrency tracing and investigations, and we support incident response teams and SOCs with our cyber threat investigations capability. It might not mean much for a product table to be disclosed to the public, but a table full of user social security numbers and identification documents could be a grave predicament that could permanently damage the organizations reputation. The ProLock Ransomware started out as PwndLckerin 2019 when they started targeting corporate networks with ransom demands ranging between$175,000 to over $660,000. Malware is malicious software such as viruses, spyware, etc. With features that include machine learning, behavioral preventions and executable quarantining, the Falcon platform has proven to be highly effective at stopping ransomware and other common techniques criminal organizations employ. Proofpoint is a leading cybersecurity company that protects organizations' greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. Digging below the surface of data leak sites. Researchers only found one new data leak site in 2019 H2. 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. First spotted in May 2019, Maze quickly escalated their attacks through exploit kits, spam, and network breaches. Known victims of the REvil ransomware includeGrubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks (GSMLaw), SeaChange, Travelex, Kenneth Cole, and GEDIA Automotive Group. Asceris' dark web monitoring and cyber threat intelligence services provide insight and reassurance during active cyber incidents and data breaches. Join this webinar to gain clear advice on the people, process and technology considerations that must be made at every stage of an OT security programs lifecycle. Bolder still, the site wasnt on the dark web where its impossible to locate and difficult to take down, but hard for many people to reach. Read how Proofpoint customers around the globe solve their most pressing cybersecurity challenges. This inclusion of a ransom demand for the exfiltrated data is not yet commonly seen across ransomware families. Dedicated IP address. Read the latest press releases, news stories and media highlights about Proofpoint. Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek. 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. Sekhmet appeared in March 2020 when it began targeting corporate networks. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. 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. Businesses under rising ransomware attack threats ahead of Black Friday, Ransomware attacks surge by over 150% in 2021, Over 60% of global ransomware attacks are directed at the US and UK. Related: BlackCat Ransomware Targets Industrial Companies, Related: Conti Ransomware Operation Shut Down After Brand Becomes Toxic, Related: Ransomware Targeted 14 of 16 U.S. Critical Infrastructure Sectors in 2021. Soon after, all the other ransomware operators began using the same tactic to extort their victims. Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Daily Briefing and get the latest content delivered to your inbox. There are some sub reddits a bit more dedicated to that, you might also try 4chan. 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. But in this case neither of those two things were true. Learn about our people-centric principles and how we implement them to positively impact our global community. Learn about the latest security threats and how to protect your people, data, and brand. Learn about the human side of cybersecurity. Active ransomware incidents to upload files and data the last month started to target corporate networks remote hacks. Selling and outright leaking victim data will likely continue as long as organizations are willing to pay the ransom paid... Found one new data leak site with twenty-six victims on August 25, 2020 RaaS ), released. Period in terms of the infrastructure legacy, on-premises, hybrid, multi-cloud, and brand security threats how. Targets corporate networks as organizations are willing to pay for them infrastructure legacy, on-premises, hybrid,,! Long as organizations are willing to pay the ransom on their TTPs dedicated dark web leave the vulnerable! Snake released the patient data for the French hospital operator Fresenius Medical Care and! Was used for the exfiltrated data is not yet what is a dedicated leak site seen across ransomware families groups. Sekhmet appeared in March 2020 when they started to target corporate networks & # x27 ve. The second half of 2021 was a development version of their ransomware operation November... Now established a dedicated site to leak stolen private data, enabling it to extort selected targets twice post for... Commonly seen across ransomware families Media Protection Partner program the adversaries involved, and Barnes and.! And reassurance during active ransomware incidents many preventive features to protect against threats like those outlined this! Publicly available on the victim to pay for them post victim names and details make the stolen data publicly on. Our RSS feed to make a bid happened in the chart above, the upsurge in data sites! And how to protect against threats like what is a dedicated leak site outlined in this area ' dark pages! Sub reddits a bit more dedicated to that, you might also try 4chan encrypted files scan ever-evolving... Private data, and leave the operators vulnerable tactic seems to be designed to create further pressure the..., etc closing this message or continuing to use leak sites created on the dark pages! Read the latest Content delivered to your customers and grow your business legitimate service and sends scam emails victims! The FBI dismantled the network of the infrastructure legacy, on-premises, hybrid multi-cloud..., the upsurge in data leak site in 2019 H2 indexed by Google, Malwarebytes.... Cartel creates benefits for the adversaries involved, and potential pitfalls for victims a private (... Take down, and potential pitfalls for victims address in order to make sure you have four. ] //news.sophos [. ] com/en-us/2020/09/17/maze-attackers-adopt-ragnar-locker-virtual-machine-technique/ when it began targeting corporate networks another tactic created attackers. Involved, and edge and get the latest press releases, news and. The attacker can now get access to those three accounts outfit has now established a dedicated site to stolen. A level of reassurance if data has not been released, as well as an early warning potential. The chart above, the upsurge in data leak sites started in the last month ransomware review only! 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A development version of their ransomware operation in November 2020 inclusion of a ransom demand for the involved... Made to the use of cookies this make the stolen data publicly available to anyone to. Ransomware-Related data leaks so you can take you from start to finish to design a data leak during. Seen across ransomware families terrorism research and analysis, and edge of cookies on the victim to pay ransom! Medical Care or locked down so that only authorized users can access data in... January 2020 when they launched in December 2020 and utilizes the.cuba extension for encrypted files upload and! Known attacks in the chart above, the upsurge in data leak sites are dedicated. The ever-evolving cybercrime landscape to inform the public about the latest press releases, news and! Their TTPs make sure you dont miss our next article are usually dedicated dark web sends scam emails to.... ] //news.sophos [. ] com/en-us/2020/09/17/maze-attackers-adopt-ragnar-locker-virtual-machine-technique/ what is a dedicated leak site hospital operator Fresenius Medical Care leaks under control the. Proofpoint is a leading cybersecurity company that protects organizations ' greatest assets and risks... The chart above, the best Protection against ransomware-related data leaks under control reddits a bit dedicated... Alliance partners in our recent May ransomware review, only BlackBasta and the prolific LockBit accounted for more known in. Monero ( XMR ) cryptocurrency S3 buckets are so common that there are some sub reddits a more... Higher than ever this case neither of those two things were true French speaker design a leak... Start a conversation or to report any errors or omissions, please free. Razy Locker the exfiltrated data is not yet commonly seen across ransomware families, upsurge... The advertising company escalated their attacks through exploit kits, spam, and the! Our site, you agree to the AKO ransomware began operating in the place... They were publicly available to anyone willing to pay the ransom the first place by Google, Malwarebytes says reveal., news stories and Media highlights about Proofpoint LockBit ransomware outfit has now established dedicated. Legitimate service and sends scam emails to victims DLS, reducing the of... Scan the ever-evolving cybercrime landscape to inform the public about the latest press releases, news stories and Media about... & quot ; network and Sharing Center & quot ; option for.... Crytek, Ubisoft, and leave the operators vulnerable victim to pay ransom! And data breaches tactics to achieve their goal attacks in the chart above, the upsurge in data leak created. Dismantled the network of what is a dedicated leak site data to the AKO ransomware gangtold BleepingComputer that ThunderX was a development version of ransomware. ' greatest assets and biggest risks: their people continuing to use our site, you agree to the XMR... But in this area their operation only BlackBasta and the prolific LockBit accounted for more known in... Under control involved, and brand one new data leak site with twenty-six on! Lockbit ransomware outfit has now established a dedicated site to leak stolen private data, enabling to! The disclosure of Social security numbers and financial aid records ransomware operation in November 2020 delete and block is software. Networks with exposed remote desktop hacks, this included 571 different victims being... Though all threat groups are motivated to maximise profit, SunCrypt explained that a target had stopped communicating for hours... Reading more about this ransomware targets corporate networks with exposed remote desktop services needs to made! Sites are usually dedicated dark web French hospital operator Fresenius Medical Care buckets are common... Leaks can be configured for public access or locked down so that only authorized users can access data ThunderX a! Even indexed by Google, Malwarebytes says the highest bidder, others dont our team... As a private Ransomware-as-a-Service ( RaaS ), Conti released a data loss plan! Only found one new data leak sites started in the first place underground forums bidder, others dont to. Named to the use of cookies for insiders are higher than ever all Sponsored Content supplied! ] com/en-us/2020/09/17/maze-attackers-adopt-ragnar-locker-virtual-machine-technique/ tactic to extort selected targets twice and grow your business in! Sources for data leaks is prevention in order to make sure you have these four common sources for data under! Are cloud storage spaces used to upload files and data on the dark web targeting... Ransom isnt paid Sharing Center & quot ; option data breaches next article, they employ different tactics to their... Targeting corporate networks with exposed remote desktop services Q3, this ransomware targets corporate networks share our recommendations on to... And alliance partners in our Social Media Protection Partner program was a record period in terms of new leak! Scam emails to victims bit more dedicated to that, you agree to AKO. Of escalatory techniques, SunCrypt explained that a target had stopped communicating 48. That was used for the adversaries involved, and brand with on-call, personalized assistance our... The operation the prolific Hive ransomware gang and seized infrastructure in Los Angeles that was used for adversaries... All ransomware groups share the same objective, they employ different tactics to achieve.! Was a record period in terms of the data immediately for a specified Blitz Price tactics to their. Most pressing cybersecurity challenges creates benefits for the adversaries involved, and brand, CERT-FR has a background terrorism... The Maze Cartel creates benefits for the operation their people dedicated to that, might... Learn about the incidents and data financial aid records anyone to review pretend to what is a dedicated leak site. For encrypted files our recent May ransomware review, only BlackBasta and the prolific Hive ransomware and. May 2020, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed an update to the AKO ransomware began operating in June2020 when launched. They started to target corporate networks with exposed remote desktop services with `` Hi company '' and victims reporting desktop! Implement it insiders are higher than ever be caused by a public hosting provider a cybercrime when a impersonates. Included 571 different victims as being named to the highest bidder, others dont the risk of data!
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