The USA Division of Justice has revealed that the latest takedown of the BlackSuit ransomware gang’s servers, domains, and darkish net extortion web site, additionally noticed the seizure of US $1,091,453 value of cryptocurrency.
The DOJ’s press launch describes how regulation enforcement businesses all over the world – together with america, UK, Canada, Germany, Eire, and France – joined forces in an operation to grab 4 servers and 9 domains related to the gang behind the BlackSuit ransomware on July 24.
Final yr, a joint advisory issued by CISA and the FBI warned organisations that the BlackSuit ransomware gang had demanded greater than half a billion {dollars} from its victims in lower than two years – after encrypting methods and threatening to launch recordsdata on the darkish net if fee was not made.
A BlackSuit ransomware assault usually culminates in a requirement for between roughly a million to 10 million {dollars}, with fee requested in Bitcoin. The biggest recognized particular person ransom demand was for an eye-watering US $60 million.
In its press launch, the US Division of Justice shared some particulars of the way it had managed to grab US $1,091,453 value of cryptocurrency extorted from a ransomware sufferer.
It explains that on or about April 4, 2023, a sufferer paid 49.3120227 Bitcoin after having their information encrypted by a ransomware assault. On the time of the transaction, the fee was value US $1,445,454.86. A portion of these proceeds (US $1,091,453) was, in accordance with the DOJ, repeatedly deposited and withdrawn right into a cryptocurrency alternate account till the funds have been frozen by the alternate in January 2024.
In fact, it is easy to think about the seizure of simply over US $1 million value of cryptocurrency a drop within the ocean in comparison with the riches made by the cybercriminals.
Nonetheless, investigations into the actions of the BlackSuit ransomware gang might be welcomed by the greater than 450 recognized victims in america alone, who embody organisations within the healthcare, training, public security, vitality and authorities sectors.
The BlackSuit prison operation first emerged in Could 2023, and has sturdy hyperlinks to the Royal ransomware gang that launched assaults on US healthcare, and which itself was born out of the stays of the infamous Russian Conti group.
As we defined final month, Bitdefender assisted the multi-national operation to disrupt the actions of the ransomware group, as a part of its ongoing dedication to preventing cybercrime – the place it assists regulation enforcement, displays the darkish net, and develops ransomware decryptors.
If you have not carried out so already, it is best to actually try “Cybercrime: From the Frontline” – Bitdefender’s video podcast collection which brings knowledgeable insights into the newest cyber threats.
