Again in 2021, Sophos X-Ops revealed an article on the highest ten methods ransomware operators ramp up strain on their targets, in an try to get them to pay. Final yr, X-Ops revealed that menace actors have since developed a symbiotic relationship with sections of the media, leveraging information articles as extortion strain. Three years on, menace actors proceed to adapt and alter their ways to extend leverage towards their targets.
The strategies we described within the 2021 article – corresponding to threats to publish information, calling staff, and notifying clients and the media about breaches – are all nonetheless in use as we speak. Nonetheless, ransomware gangs are adopting some new, and regarding, ways.
A short abstract of our findings:
- Ransomware operators more and more weaponize legit entities – such because the information media, laws, civil regulatory enforcement authorities, and even regulation enforcement – to ramp up strain on victims
- In some circumstances, criminals encourage affected clients and staff to say compensation, or launch litigation – typically offering the names and make contact with particulars of CEOs and enterprise homeowners
- Risk actors declare to evaluate stolen information for proof of criminal activity, regulatory noncompliance, and monetary discrepancies – all of which can be utilized as additional leverage and to inflict reputational injury
- Ransomware criminals brazenly criticize their victims, and can typically try to deride them as unethical or negligent, which might additionally trigger reputational injury – in addition to contributing to some menace actor teams’ makes an attempt to ‘flip the script’ and painting themselves as beneficent vigilantes
- Ransomware operators seem like more and more snug with stealing and leaking extraordinarily delicate information, together with medical information, nude photos, and, in a single case (as we’ll cowl later), the non-public particulars of a CEO’s daughter
Laws and litigation
One thing we didn’t see a lot, if any of, in 2021 was ransomware actors weaponizing laws, or encouraging secondary victims of their assaults – corresponding to purchasers, clients, and staff – to launch lawsuits, as a way to improve strain on focused organizations. Nonetheless, we’ve seen a number of current examples of this.
In November 2023, ALPHV/BlackCat filed a Safety and Change Fee (SEC) criticism towards certainly one of its personal victims. The menace actor alleged that the corporate had didn’t notify the SEC of the breach throughout the 4 days required below the new last guidelines (which, whereas adopted in July 2023, didn’t really come into power till December of that yr).
We noticed threats to reveal non-compliance in different contexts, too. In some circumstances, it’s one thing for which menace actors seem like particularly looking out. As we reported in our December 2023 piece on the connection between ransomware gangs and the media, not less than one menace actor seems to be actively recruiting for individuals to search for cases of non-compliance and monetary irregularities – presumably to make use of this as leverage for extortion.
Determine 1: A menace actor posts a recruitment advert on a prison discussion board, in search of somebody to search for “violations,” “inappropriate spending,” “discrepancies,” and “cooperation with firms on sanction lists.” It’s not clear that that is linked particularly to ransomware
It’s value noting that this type of exercise can require appreciable experience – as famous by one menace actor on a prison discussion board under (Determine 2) – however is probably going nonetheless enticing to ransomware operators if it gives them with extra ammunition.
Determine 2: A menace actor gives some recommendation on discovering “inconsistencies in tax reporting” on a prison discussion board
Not less than one different ransomware group claims to do any such analysis. The WereWolves menace actor notes, on its leak web site, that it topics stolen information to “a prison authorized evaluation, a industrial evaluation and an evaluation when it comes to insider data for opponents.”
Determine 3: An excerpt from the WereWolves ransomware leak web site
We famous one significantly disturbing instance, the place the Monti ransomware gang claimed that an worker at a compromised group had been looking for youngster sexual abuse materials. The menace actor posted a screenshot of a browser historical past window, together with a PowerShell window displaying the alleged username of the offender. Monti went on to state that “in the event that they don’t pay up, we’ll be compelled to show over the abuse data to the authorities, and launch the remainder of the data to the general public.”
Determine 4: A part of a publish on the Monti ransomware leak web site
We additionally famous an occasion of a menace actor encouraging individuals whose personally identifiable data (PII) appeared in a knowledge breach to “partake in litigation towards the sufferer.” Furthermore, the menace actor additionally offered a “snippet of the negotiations” and inspired these affected to “specific your considerations” to an govt on the focused group – offering not simply that particular person’s title, but additionally their phone quantity.
Determine 5: A menace actor posts on a prison discussion board, offering materials for “those that want to partake in litigation towards the sufferer”
This tactic of naming particular people – together with contact particulars – is utilized by a couple of ransomware gang. The Qiulong group, for instance, recurrently contains the main points of CEOs and enterprise homeowners on its leak web site, typically accompanied by insults, private data, and accusations of negligence.
Determine 6: A publish on the Qiulong ransomware leak web site. Be aware the reference (redacted within the picture above) to a particular make of automotive the CEO drives
Equally, the Snatch menace actor recurrently names particular people as “accountable” for information breaches.
Determine 7: A publish on the Snatch leak web site, which names a particular particular person who Snatch claims is “answerable for information leakage”
Determine 8: The Snatch menace actor explains its reasoning for together with the non-public information of enterprise homeowners and authority figures on its leak web site
In a single case, we famous that the Monti ransomware group had not simply named a enterprise proprietor and revealed their Social Safety quantity, however had additionally posted a picture of them, crudely edited to incorporate satan horns and a speech bubble studying “I’m a dumb p***y who doesn’t care about my purchasers.”
From the angle of ransomware operators, referring to particular people serves three functions. First, it gives a ‘lightning rod’ for any subsequent blame, strain, and/or litigation. Second, it contributes to the specter of reputational injury (lined within the subsequent part). And third, private assaults can menace and intimidate the management of the focused group.
It could appear considerably ironic that menace actors are weaponizing laws to realize their very own unlawful targets, and the extent to which this tactic has been profitable is unclear. Nonetheless, when used, it possible provides to the already appreciable strain skilled by C-suite executives – significantly within the context of not less than one CEO beforehand being convicted following authorized motion associated to a ransomware assault. Whereas out of scope for this explicit article, it’s value noting that the present authorized panorama pertaining to the non-public danger and accountability of CEOs and CISOs in such conditions seems unsure. Whereas we’re not conscious of any convictions arising from ransomware teams referring breach data to regulators or regulation enforcement, that doesn’t imply it received’t occur sooner or later – and the chance is prone to be of concern to C-suites.
Furthermore, the truth that some ransomware operators declare to take a vigilante function to reveal wrongdoing, irregularities, and prison exercise inside organizations presents an fascinating moral challenge, regardless of the irony that doing so helps their very own prison exercise.
Ethics, reputational injury, and embarrassment
In Determine 4 above, the WereWolves ransomware group claimed to reveal (and threatened to report) severe prison exercise allegedly occurring at a company. Whereas this by no means negates the illegality and seriousness of ransomware assaults, it raises an moral dilemma: Which is worse, the ransomware assault itself, or the attackers’ revelation of doubtless prison exercise going down throughout the group that was victimized?
Many ransomware criminals thrive on this moral gray space, and need to seem ethical, moral, or genuinely involved about safety and confidentiality. As we famous in our earlier article on this subject, quite a few ransomware gangs are trying to ‘flip the script’ and painting themselves as a power for good, by referring to themselves as “sincere…pentesters”, or as a “penetration testing service” conducting “cybersecurity [studies]” or “safety audit[s].” In fact, legit penetration testers function with the prior permission of, and below parameters set by (and typically, energetic supervision by) the businesses who rent them; ransomware criminals don’t.
Cactus, for example, describes itself as a “Direct Safety Audit Company (DSAA) revolutionizing a buyer journey, one hyper-targeted answer at a time.” The language right here is – most likely deliberately – harking back to company advertising materials.
Determine 9: On the FAQ web page on its leak web site, the Cactus ransomware group claims that it conducts “community safety audits”
In distinction, many ransomware gangs discuss with their targets as “irresponsible,” “negligent,” or uncaring.
Determine 10: The 8Base leak web site mentions “irresponsible processing of…private information and enterprise secrets and techniques” and contains the assertion that “we’re sorry that you just had been affected by firms’ negligent perspective to the privateness and safety of their clients’ private information.” Be aware the declare that this “provides you the chance to request compensation”
Of explicit curiosity in Determine 10 is 8Base’s promise that they’ll “take away private data from disclosure on demand…for free of charge to you,” following requests from particular person purchasers of the focused group.
Once more, that is (maybe) an try to make the group seem affordable and moral, however it’s additionally mixed with a strain tactic aimed on the group. In the identical paragraph, 8Base notes that “as well as we are going to present your information set that you need to use in a lawsuit to compensate the injury triggered to you.”
Determine 11: In a publish on its leak web site, the Blacksuit ransomware group claims that the administration of a focused group “doesn’t care about you or your private data”
Determine 12: A screenshot of the House Bears leak web site, asking guests whether or not they belief focused firms with their information
In lots of circumstances, this criticism continues after negotiations have damaged down and victims have determined to not pay. As an example, the Karakurt group, in a ‘press launch,’ referred to as out a hospital after it didn’t pay a ransom.
Determine 13: The Karakurt group criticizes a hospital after it didn’t pay the ransom, calling it “dishonest and irresponsible”
Usually, within the context of exposing safety weaknesses and negligence, ransomware operators painting themselves as morally superior to their targets. Sometimes, the waters are muddied additional.
The Malas ransomware gang, for instance, calls for that its victims “make a donation to a nonprofit of their selection.”
Determine 14: An excerpt from a publish on the Malas ransomware gang’s leak web site. The citation within the final response is attributed to financier Warren Buffet
Different menace actors have beforehand adopted an identical strategy. In 2022, for instance, the GoodWill ransomware group demanded that victims carry out charitable actions – corresponding to feeding poor youngsters, or offering garments and blankets to the unhoused – and publish video proof on-line. In 2020, the Darkside ransomware gang claimed to have donated a proportion of its good points to 2 charities. So far as we are able to inform, there have been no identified victims of the GoodWill ransomware pressure, so we don’t know if the tactic was profitable, and not less than one of many two charities to which Darkside donated funds said that it might not be preserving the cash.
Malas, nevertheless, takes issues a step additional. Along with requiring charitable donations, it additionally explicitly criticizes particular organizations on the premise of alleged moral shortcomings – arguably combining ransomware with hacktivism.
Determine 15: A publish on the Malas leak web site following an assault on a group company (an organization that makes an attempt to get better money owed on behalf of collectors)
Determine 16: One other publish on the Malas leak web site, referring to an assault on a company within the pure assets sector
Malas admits that this strategy has not been significantly profitable. On its FAQ, its response to the query “Has it been efficient?” is an unequivocal “To date, no.” Apparently, the writer of the FAQ claims that one of many causes for that is that victims “received’t ship cash to real grass-roots organizations.”
Determine 17: Malas goes into some element as to why it believes its strategy has not been efficient
Nonetheless, in trying to current its targets as morally poor, Malas is basically no totally different to its friends. It leverages the specter of reputational injury, in the identical manner that different ransomware gangs do. The intent is to cut back belief and good religion, with the proposed answer being for the goal to pay up and due to this fact negate, not less than partially, any hostile affect.
Malas can be no totally different to its friends in the case of its communications with victims. Like different ransomware teams, it threatens to promote or publish information and inform journalists and clients.
Determine 18: An excerpt from the Malas leak web site
The prevalence of this menace was one thing we famous each in our article on ransomware gangs and the media, and in our 2021 examination of ransomware strain ways. Aware that many information retailers are eager to publish tales on ransomware, and that media consideration could compound reputational injury to organizations and improve the strain to pay up, many ransomware gangs explicitly make this menace on their leak websites, and can solicit media protection and communication with journalists.
As well as, some menace actors additionally threaten to inform clients, companions, and opponents. The intent right here is to generate and intensify strain from a number of angles and sources: media consideration, clients, purchasers, different firms, and doubtlessly regulatory our bodies too.
Determine 19: An excerpt from the FAQ on the Cactus leak web site. Be aware the threats that “it’s extremely possible that you’ll be sued,” and that “journalists, researchers, and many others. will dig via your paperwork, discovering inconsistencies or irregularities”
Determine 20: An excerpt from the FAQ on the Play leak web site. Be aware that there’s some related wording to the Cactus discover in Determine 19, within the reply to the “What occurs if we don’t pay?” query
We famous in our 2021 article that the specter of leaked private information was an enormous concern for organizations (and, after all, for the people concerned), with each privateness and potential authorized ramifications. Whereas that is nonetheless the case, in recent times ransomware gangs have stepped up their sport, typically leaking, or threatening to leak, significantly delicate information.
Delicate information, swatting, and extra
A number of ransomware teams have revealed delicate medical information following assaults. This has included psychological well being information, the medical information of youngsters, and, lately, blood take a look at information.
In a world the place information breaches are more and more commonplace, threatening to leak extraordinarily delicate information exacerbates the strain on sufferer organizations, and might trigger appreciable misery and concern to these affected.
In some circumstances, we seen ransomware gangs explicitly calling this out on their leak web site – noting that stolen information included “photos of nude sufferers” and “details about sufferers’ sexual issues.”
Determine 21: A publish on the Qiulong leak web site
Determine 22: One other publish on the Qiulong leak web site
In a single significantly regarding instance, the Qiulong ransomware group posted screenshots of a CEO’s daughter’s identification paperwork, together with a hyperlink to her Instagram profile.
Determine 23: The Qiulong ransomware group posts private information of a CEO’s daughter on its leak web site. From the restricted context offered, this will have been an act of revenge after negotiations had damaged down
In 2021, we famous that ransomware gangs would typically e mail and name staff and clients as a way to improve strain on organizations. Nonetheless, in recent times, menace actors seem like more and more keen on not merely threatening organizations instantly, but additionally secondary victims, as in Determine 23. As an example, as reported in January 2024, attackers threatened to ‘swat’ sufferers of a most cancers hospital, and have despatched threatening textual content messages to a CEO’s partner.
As we wrote in 2021, ransomware operators will typically warn their victims to not contact regulation enforcement. Nonetheless, the specter of swatting demonstrates some attackers’ willingness to weaponize regulation enforcement when it fits them – not not like their willingness to weaponize laws and rules.
An escalation in ways
Whereas many ransomware gangs are nonetheless utilizing the strain ways we reported on in 2021, there seems to have been an escalation. It’s not sure whether or not that is pushed by growing numbers of victims opting to not pay ransoms, competitors from different menace actors, ransomware teams feeling more and more emboldened, or different elements. Nonetheless, what is obvious is that every one the ways we talk about listed below are designed to intimidate focused organizations and other people linked to them.
Some ransomware teams will weaponize any legit useful resource to extend the strain on their targets – whether or not that’s the information media, as we explored in our earlier article, regulation enforcement, or threats of civil authorized motion or reporting malfeasance to regulatory authorities. Whereas it’s most likely too early to say if this strategy is efficient (and, it’s additionally value noting, the menace isn’t at all times carried out), the criminals’ goal is to generate strain from a number of angles and sources.
Using telephone calls and swatting additionally point out a willingness to maneuver threats from the digital sphere and into the actual world. Swatting, particularly, is an especially harmful crime that has on some events resulted in damage and demise, in addition to vital psychological misery.
Sooner or later, ransomware gangs seem prone to proceed to plan and make use of novel methods to coerce their victims into paying, and to inflict reputational injury – and maybe worse – if ransoms should not paid.
Sophos has a number of assets to assist defenders defend towards ransomware. You will discover greatest observe steering, an anti-ransomware toolkit, a hyperlink to our incident response providers, and hyperlinks to a number of of our ransomware-related stories right here. Particular recommendation on configuring Sophos merchandise to forestall ransomware can be accessible.
