The takedown of the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group's leak site has been confirmed as a result of global law enforcement action.
The FBI is now urging over 500 of the group's victims to come forward to receive a decryption key that will enable them to restore their systems.
A notice on the notorious Ransomware-as-a-Group's website states that 'This Website Has Been Seized.
The US Department of Justice confirmed the law enforcement disruption campaign in a statement on December 19, 2023.
The DoJ revealed that the FBI has worked with dozens of victims in the US and internationally to develop a decryption tool, which they believe will save multiple victims from ransom demands totaling approximately $68m. More Websites Seized.
Through the investigation, the FBI has gained more visibility into the BlackCat group's computer network, enabling it to seize several more websites it operates.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department's Criminal Division vowed to continue the investigation and pursue those behind BlackCat until they are brought to justice.
The DoJ also recognized the critical cooperation of Europol and German and Danish law enforcement in the action, alongside other national police agencies.
It was first reported in early December 2023 that BlackCat was experiencing online disruption, which cybersecurity commentators quickly attributed to law enforcement action.
On December 18, ZeroFox released an analysis of BlackCat's activities from January 2022 to October 2023, finding that it was the second-most leveraged strain in North America and Europe over the period, behind only LockBit.
While welcoming the takedown of the group's leak site, Daniel Curtis, Senior Intelligence Analyst at ZeroFox, emphasized that it will likely only result in a temporary suppression of the threat from its operatives.
Michael McPherson, SVP Technical Operations ReliaQuest and former FBI special agent said the law enforcement action is a body-blow to the ransomware ecosystem but by no means a knockout punch.
McPherson believes the potential permanent removal of ALPHV is likely to be a significant short-term disruption to ransomware globally.
Experts also lauded the US government's support for victims of BlackCat, which Raj Samani, SVP and Chief Scientist at Rapid7 said is a vital component of disincentivizing other ransomware attackers.
This Cyber News was published on www.infosecurity-magazine.com. Publication date: Tue, 19 Dec 2023 17:00:12 +0000