December 19, 2023 at 02:35PM
The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group has earned more than $300 million from 1,000+ victims worldwide by September 2023, per FBI. Affiliates have extensive networks and experience in ransomware and data extortion. Additionally, FBI and CISA have issued mitigation measures, including patching vulnerabilities and enforcing multifactor authentication. FBI has recently disrupted the group, assisting over 500 victims in recovering their files for free.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes:
1. The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang has made over $300 million in ransom payments from more than 1,000 victims worldwide.
2. ALPHV BlackCat affiliates have extensive networks and experience with ransomware and data extortion operations, and have compromised over 1,000 entities with nearly 75% in the United States.
3. The FBI, in collaboration with CISA, has shared mitigation measures to help network defenders and critical infrastructure organizations reduce the impact and risks associated with this ransomware group’s attacks, as well as provided ALPHV IOCs and TTPs.
4. Network defenders are strongly encouraged to prioritize patching vulnerabilities, enforce multifactor authentication, regularly update and patch software, and conduct vulnerability assessments.
5. BlackCat/ALPHV is suspected to be a rebrand of the DarkSide and BlackMatter ransomware operations and has been linked to numerous breaches worldwide.
6. The FBI disrupted the ALPHV ransomware operation, developed a decryption tool, and helped over 500 victims worldwide recover their files for free, saving around $68 million in ransom demands.
7. It’s unclear how the private decryption keys were obtained, but it’s believed that the FBI exploited vulnerabilities in the ransomware gang’s server.
8. The FBI also seized the domain for the ransomware operation’s data leak site, while ALPHV claims to have breached at least 3,400 victims and retains control over the data leak site’s private keys.
9. The ongoing situation has created opportunities for other cybercrime groups to capitalize on the disruption.
Please let me know if you need any further information or assistance.