Microsoft: Cloud Environments of US Organizations Targeted in Ransomware Attacks

Microsoft: Cloud Environments of US Organizations Targeted in Ransomware Attacks

September 30, 2024 at 08:00AM

Microsoft warns of cybercriminal gang Storm-0501 targeting US organizations’ hybrid cloud environments with ransomware deployments. Active since 2021, the financially motivated group employs various ransomware families and exploits weak credentials and known vulnerabilities to gain control of networks, compromise devices, and deploy ransomware, posing a threat across multiple sectors.

Based on the meeting notes provided, the key takeaways are:
1. Cybercriminal group Storm-0501 has been actively targeting the hybrid cloud environments of US organizations across multiple sectors, using a variety of ransomware families and tools.
2. Storm-0501 has been observed using various tactics, such as exploiting weak credentials, over-privileged accounts, compromised credentials, known vulnerabilities in software, and remote code execution to gain unauthorized access and deploy ransomware.
3. The group’s attacks are opportunistic, with specific focus on government, law enforcement, manufacturing, and transportation sectors.
4. Storm-0501 has been observed deploying ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and using techniques like lateral movement, compromising domain admins, and creating backdoor access to persistently control the compromised environments.

These takeaways highlight the specific tactics and targets of the cybercriminal group, as well as their use of various tools and methods to compromise and deploy ransomware across organizations.

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