February 15, 2024 at 01:57PM
The U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information on the ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware gang leaders and an additional $5 million for tips on individuals involved in ALPHV ransomware attacks. The FBI linked the gang to over 60 breaches and over $300 million in ransom payments. The rewards are provided through the U.S. Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, with a dedicated Tor SecureDrop server for submitting tips. ALPHV is believed to be a rebrand of DarkSide and BlackMatter ransomware operations and has claimed recent pipeline attacks.
The U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware gang leaders. An additional $5 million bounty is available for tips on individuals attempting to participate in ALPHV ransomware attacks. The FBI has linked this ransomware gang to over 60 breaches worldwide during its first four months of activity between November 2021 and March 2022. ALPHV has reportedly gained at least $300 million in ransom payments from over 1,000 victims until September 2023. The rewards are provided through the U.S. Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), with more than $135 million paid for helpful tips since 1986.
ALPHV emerged in November 2021 and is believed to be a rebrand of the DarkSide and BlackMatter ransomware operations. The gang re-emerged under the BlackMatter brand, shut down again in November 2021, and returned as ALPHV/BlackCat in February 2022. They have also claimed a pipeline attack against Canada’s Trans-Northern Pipelines, with the company confirming a November 2023 network breach.
In addition to the rewards for ALPHV, the U.S. government announced rewards of up to $10 million for information on the leaders of the Hive ransomware gang, and previously announced bounties for members and affiliates of the Hive, Clop, Conti, REvil (Sodinokibi), and Darkside ransomware operations.
The State Department has set up a dedicated Tor SecureDrop server for submitting tips on ALPHV and other wanted threat actors.
For further information, please refer to the State Department Secure Drop Tor page on BleepingComputer.