The Impact of LockBits New ContiBased Encryptor on Ransomware

The LockBit ransomware gang has recently started using a new encryptor, called LockBit Green, which is based on the source code of the now-defunct Conti ransomware gang. This follows the gang's previous iterations of their encryptor, which began with a custom one and progressed to LockBit 3.0, which was based on the source code of the BlackMatter gang. Researchers have discovered samples of the new encryptor circulating on VirusTotal and other malware-sharing websites. LockBit has modified only a small part of the source code, including the ransom note, which is identical to that used by LockBit Black. By reusing and adapting the source code of reputable competitors, such as Conti, ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) maintainers can maximize their release speed to attract new affiliates. Researchers from Prodaft have shared Indicators of Compromise for Lockbit Green along with the Yara rule for detecting its patterns. It is still unclear why LockBit is using a new Conti-based encryptor when their previous one is still operational, but PRODAFT may have the answer. The LockBit ransomware gang has recently resumed using encryptors based on other operations, switching to one based on the Conti ransomware's leaked source code. This new encryptor, called LockBit Green, has been found circulating on VirusTotal and other malware-sharing websites. LockBit has modified only a small part of the source code, including the ransom note, which is identical to that used by LockBit Black. By reusing and adapting the source code of reputable competitors, such as Conti, ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) maintainers can maximize their release speed to attract new affiliates. Researchers from Prodaft have shared Indicators of Compromise for Lockbit Green along with the Yara rule for detecting its patterns. It is still unknown why LockBit is using a new Conti-based encryptor when their previous one is still operational, but PRODAFT may have the answer.

This Cyber News was published on heimdalsecurity.com. Publication date: Fri, 03 Feb 2023 11:52:02 +0000


Cyber News related to The Impact of LockBits New ContiBased Encryptor on Ransomware

The Impact of LockBits New ContiBased Encryptor on Ransomware - The LockBit ransomware gang has recently started using a new encryptor, called LockBit Green, which is based on the source code of the now-defunct Conti ransomware gang. This follows the gang's previous iterations of their encryptor, which began with ...
1 year ago Heimdalsecurity.com
FBI: Royal ransomware asked 350 victims to pay $275 million - The FBI and CISA revealed in a joint advisory that the Royal ransomware gang has breached the networks of at least 350 organizations worldwide since September 2022. In an update to the original advisory published in March with additional information ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
New Hunters International ransomware possible rebrand of Hive - A new ransomware-as-a-service brand named Hunters International has emerged using code used by the Hive ransomware operation, leading to the valid assumption that the old gang has resumed activity under a different flag. This theory is supported by ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Hive Ransomware: A Detailed Analysis - This past week, on January 26th, to be exact, the FBI successfully shut down the Hive ransomware group and saved victims over a hundred million dollars in ransom payments and remediation costs. As ransomware continues to be a national security threat ...
1 year ago Heimdalsecurity.com
Linux version of Qilin ransomware focuses on VMware ESXi - A sample of the Qilin ransomware gang's VMware ESXi encryptor has been found and it could be one of the most advanced and customizable Linux encryptors seen to date. Due to this adoption, almost all ransomware gangs have created dedicated VMware ESXi ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
The Top 10 Ransomware Groups of 2023 - This article takes an in-depth look at the rise in ransomware attacks over the past year and the criminal groups driving the surge in cyber extortion. LockBit has established itself as one of the most notorious ransomware operations since emerging on ...
8 months ago Securityboulevard.com
The Week in Ransomware - This week was pretty quiet on the ransomware front, with most of the attention on the seizure of the BreachForums data theft forum. That does not mean there was nothing of interest released this week about ransomware. A report by CISA said that the ...
4 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
The Week in Ransomware - Today's column brings you two weeks of information on the latest ransomware attacks and research after we skipped last week's article. BleepingComputer has learned that some of the BlackCat/ALPHV affiliates are not buying the explanation and have ...
9 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
BlackCat ransomware uses new 'Munchkin' Linux VM in stealthy attacks - The BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware operation has begun to use a new tool named 'Munchkin' that utilizes virtual machines to deploy encryptors on network devices stealthily. Manchkin enables BlackCat to run on remote systems or encrypt remote Server ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Ransomware Roundup - The Ransomware Roundup report aims to provide readers with brief insights into the evolving ransomware landscape and the Fortinet solutions that protect against those variants. This edition of the Ransomware Roundup covers the 8base ransomware. 8base ...
9 months ago Feeds.fortinet.com
Medusa Ransomware Turning Your Files into Stone - Unit 42 Threat Intelligence analysts have noticed an escalation in Medusa ransomware activities and a shift in tactics toward extortion, characterized by the introduction in early 2023 of their dedicated leak site called the Medusa Blog. The Unit 42 ...
9 months ago Unit42.paloaltonetworks.com
VX-Underground malware collective framed by Phobos ransomware - A new Phobos ransomware variant frames the popular VX-Underground malware-sharing collective, indicating the group is behind attacks using the encryptor. Phobos launched in 2018 in what is believed to be a ransomware-as-a-service derived from the ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
StopCrypt: Most widely distributed ransomware now evades detection - A new variant of StopCrypt ransomware was spotted in the wild, employing a multi-stage execution process that involves shellcodes to evade security tools. StopCrypt, also known as STOP Djvu, is the most widely distributed ransomware in existence that ...
6 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
The Week in Ransomware - Governments struck back this week against members of ransomware operations, imposing sanctions on one threat actor and sentencing another to prison. On Tuesday, the Australian, US, and UK governments announced sanctions against Aleksandr Gennadievich ...
8 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Ransomware trends and recovery strategies companies should know - Ransomware attacks can have severe consequences, causing financial losses, reputational damage, and operational disruptions. The methods used to deliver ransomware vary, including phishing emails, malicious websites, and exploiting vulnerabilities in ...
9 months ago Helpnetsecurity.com
Ransomware's Impact May Include Heart Attacks, Strokes & PTSD - First-order harms: Direct targets of ransomware attacks. The increasing convergence of IT and OT leave physical infrastructures more vulnerable to ransomware, even though most ransomware operators lack the capability to directly compromise OT or ...
8 months ago Techrepublic.com
Waiting for the BlackCat rebrand - We saw another ransomware operation shut down this week after first getting breached by law enforcement and then targeting critical infrastructure, putting them further in the spotlight of the US government. While the Tor onion domain seizure was a ...
7 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
The Week in Ransomware - Earlier this month, the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware operation suffered a five-day disruption to their Tor data leak and negotiation sites, rumored to be caused by a law enforcement action. The FBI revealed this week that they hacked the BlackCat/ALPHV ...
9 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Targeting homeowners' data - As these companies obtain a large amount of sensitive information from their customers, they become attractive targets for ransomware gangs to conduct double-extortion attacks. Finland is also warning of Akira ransomware increasingly targeting ...
8 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Key Group uses leaked builders of ransomware and wipers | Securelist - The first discovered sample of Key Group, the Xorist ransomware, established persistence in the system by changing file extension associations. The .huis_bn extension added to encrypted files in the early versions of Key Group samples, Xorist and ...
1 week ago Securelist.com
Ransomware in 2023 recap: 5 key takeaways - This provides the best overall picture of ransomware activity, but the true number of attacks is far higher. While some ransomware trends hardly changed over the last year, such as LockBit's continued dominance, ransomware criminals also challenged ...
8 months ago Malwarebytes.com
Declining Ransomware Payments: Shift in Hacker Tactics? - Several cybersecurity advisories and agencies recommend not caving into ransomware gangs' demands and paying their ransoms. It seems the tide is turning, with a decline in ransomware payments; this article explores the trend and what it might mean ...
7 months ago Securityboulevard.com
Ransomware Roundup - On a bi-weekly basis, FortiGuard Labs gathers data on ransomware variants of interest that have been gaining traction within our datasets and the OSINT community. The Ransomware Roundup report aims to provide readers with brief insights into the ...
6 months ago Feeds.fortinet.com
Cisco Talos Report: New Trends in Ransomware, Network Infrastructure Attacks, Commodity Loader Malware - The Cisco Talos Year in Review report released Tuesday highlights new trends in the cybersecurity threat landscape. We'll focus on three topics covered: the ransomware cybercriminal ecosystem, network infrastructure attacks and commodity loader ...
10 months ago Techrepublic.com
The Week in Ransomware - With it being the first week of the New Year and some still away on vacation, it has been slow with ransomware news, attacks, and new information. Last weekend, BleepingComputer tested a new decryptor for the Black Basta ransomware to show how it ...
9 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com

Latest Cyber News


Cyber Trends (last 7 days)


Trending Cyber News (last 7 days)