₹555 Crore Ransom Payment to the Infamous Dark Angels Ransomware Gang

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₹555 Crore Ransom Payment to the Infamous Dark Angels Ransomware Gang | Details Disclosed

The Dark Angels cybercrime group was paid an astounding $75 million ransom, which shattered all previous ransomware records. The Dark Angels, who are renowned for their high-value and targeted attacks, have surfaced as a substantial threat to businesses worldwide.

In a shocking revelation, cybersecurity specialists have revealed that a ransom payment of $75 million (₹555 Crore) was made to the Dark Angels cybercrime group. This amount marks a new record for the amount of money paid as a ransom. The previous peak, which was $40 million paid by CNA Financial in 2021, has been surpassed by this enormous amount, which has established a new standard in the area of ransomware assaults.

Ransomware attacks have evolved into a lucrative operation for hackers, who are motivated by the prospect of receiving big financial rewards for their efforts. Ransomware assaults have increased significantly, as seen by the data that was produced by Varonis. The most recent report from ZscalerThreatLabz highlights an 18% increase in the number of such attacks compared to the previous year.

The healthcare industry, the manufacturing industry, and the technology industry have all been hammered particularly severely. Manufacturing has been subjected to more than twice as many attacks as the other two industries combined.

From a geographical standpoint, the United States continues to be the most prominent target, since it is responsible for about half of all ransomware assaults. The United Kingdom comes in second place. According to the findings of Zscaler researchers, the number of ransomware attacks in the United States has increased by an astounding 93% over the course of the past year.

Despite the fact that the Dark Angels cybercrime group was not previously considered to be among the most notorious gangs, it has now been identified as the most important ransomware actor to keep an eye on throughout the course of the coming year.

In May of 2022, the gang made its initial appearance on the radar. They were operating a data leak website that was called Dunghill. Cyble made the initial discovery that the Dark Angels were a rebranding of the Babuk ransomware family. Since then, the Dark Angels have drastically increased their operations.

During the month of September 2023, they carried out one of their most noteworthy attacks, which was directed at the industrial and automation company Johnson Controls. In the course of the attack, the company’s VMWare ESXiservers were locked down with the use of the Dark Angels ransomware, which demanded a ransom payment of $51 million. It is not yet known whether the ransom was paid, but it is believed that the perpetrators of the attack took 27 gigabytes of data belonging to the company.

In contrast to the majority of ransomware gangs, which use a broad and indiscriminate approach, the Dark Angels employ a highly targeted method, concentrating their attention on a limited number of victims who are of great value. This approach guarantees that, despite the fact that the number of victims is modest, each target is meticulously chosen to provide the greatest possible impact. The majority of ransomware groups, on the other hand, rely on affiliate networks for initial access and penetration testing. This targeted method stands in stark contrast to said approach.

According to a report by ZscalerThreatLabz, the quantity of data that is regularly stolen by Dark Angels for large enterprises amounts to between 10 and 100 terabytes. The process of transferring this amount of data can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

The fact that the Dark Angels were successful in obtaining a ransom of $75 million has enormous repercussions for the current state of cybersecurity. In addition to establishing a new financial standard, it also sends a message to other thieves about the possible benefits that could be gained from high-stakes ransomware assaults.

Ransom payments have reached new heights as a result of the growing prevalence of ransomware-as-a-service models, zero-day assaults on legacy systems, vishing attacks, and attacks powered by artificial intelligence.

Ransomware defense continues to be a key concern for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) all over the world, even as organizations throughout the world struggle to deal with these ever-evolving threats. In light of the enormous ransom that was paid to the Dark Angels, it is clear that there is an immediate and pressing requirement for comprehensive cybersecurity measures and proactive threat intelligence in order to protect against the growing prevalence of sophisticated ransomware operations.

About The Author:

Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blogs, he also writes for brands including Craw Security, Bytecode Security, and NASSCOM.

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