Introduction
The ransomware landscape is a complex, crowded and rapidly evolving ecosystem. New and rebranded groups appear and disappear continuously, while the operators behind them share, rent, steal, or copy each other’s attack tools, playbooks and even infrastructure.
Sophos has been monitoring and reporting on the ransomware landscape for years, building an unrivalled library of insight and analysis. The Ransomware Threat Intelligence Center brings together a curated list of the most important research articles and reports published by Sophos on prevalent, new, and emerging ransomware threats, including their tools, techniques, and behaviors, from 2018 to the present. The content will be updated regularly as new material becomes available.
For further information on ransomware, including advice on security best practice and the latest State of Ransomware report, visit Sophos’ Resources to Stop Ransomware.
Sophos Research and Reports on Prevalent and New Ransomware Groups, 2018 to 2022
Astro Locker
Sophos MTR in real time: What is Astro Locker team?
March 31, 2021 – A Sophos incident response investigation uncovers similarities between Astro Locker and Mount Locker ransomware
Avos Locker
Avos Locker remotely accesses boxes, even running in Safe Mode
Dec. 22, 2021 – Sophos reports how the relatively new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), Avos Locker boots target computers into Safe Mode to execute the ransomware and tries to disable security software
Atom Silo
Atom Silo ransomware actors use Confluence exploit, DLL side-load for stealthy attack
Oct. 4, 2021 – Sophos reports on an attack by the relatively new ransomware group Atom Silo that leveraged a recent vulnerability in Atlassian’s Confluence collaboration software and tried to disrupt endpoint protection software. The Confluence vulnerability was also exploited by a crypto miner
Avaddon
What to expect when you’ve been hit with Avaddon ransomware
May 24, 2021 – Part of a series designed to help IT administrators facing the impact of an attack involving a particular ransomware family
Black Kingdom
Black Kingdom ransomware begins appearing on Exchange servers
March 23, 2021 – Sophos reports on a novel, if fairly basic ransomware targeting Microsoft Exchange servers that haven’t been patched against the ProxyLogon exploit
BlackMatter
BlackMatter ransomware emerges from the shadow of DarkSide
Aug. 9, 2021 – Sophos reports on a new RaaS that calls itself BlackMatter and adopts tools and techniques from REvil, DarkSide and LockBit 2.0
Conti
Sophos has reported extensively on the prolific Conti RaaS operation. Researchers will continue to track the evolution of this high profile threat following the events of early March 2022, when Conti’s stance on the Russia Ukraine war led to a series of public leaks of its attack playbook, toolset, internal communications, source code and more.
Sophos analysis and insight on Conti ransomware include:
What to expect when you’ve been hit with Conti ransomware
Feb. 16, 2021 – Part of a series designed to help IT administrators facing the impact of an attack involving a particular ransomware family
Conti ransomware: Evasive by nature
Feb. 16, 2021 – Sophos reports on how the attackers spreading Conti have switched gears to a completely fileless attack method
A Conti ransomware attack day-by-day
Feb. 16, 2021 – Sophos reports on the unfolding of a Conti ransomware incident
Conti affiliates use ProxyShell Exchange exploit in ransomware attacks
Sep. 3, 2021 – Sophos reports on an investigation into a Conti ransomware attack where the attackers used a ProxyShell exploit
Cring
Cring ransomware group exploits ancient ColdFusion server
Sep. 21, 2021 – Sophos reports on an unknown threat actor exploiting a vulnerability in an 11-year-old installation of Adobe ColdFusion 9 and deploying rarely seen Cring ransomware
DearCry
DearCry ransomware attacks exploit Exchange server vulnerabilities
March15, 2021 – Sophos reports on an unsophisticated, “beginner” ransomware called DearCry, which mimics the notorious WannaCry ransomware
Dharma
Color by numbers: inside a Dharma ransomware-as-a-service attack
Aug.12, 2020 – Sophos reports on the Dharma RaaS that targets smaller businesses and provides affiliates with detailed, step-by-step attack scripts
DarkSide
A defender’s view inside a DarkSide ransomware attack
May 11, 2021 – A Sophos deep dive into the attack methods of the DarkSide ransomware group
Egregor
Egregor ransomware: Maze’s heir apparent
Dec. 8, 2020 – Sophos reports on a new RaaS variant of Sekhmet ransomware that appears to have picked up where Maze left off
Entropy
Dridex bots deliver Entropy ransomware in recent attacks
Feb. 23, 2022 – Sophos reports on how code used in Entropy ransomware bears a resemblance to code used in Dridex malware, suggesting a possible common origin
Epsilon Red
A new ransomware enters the fray: Epsilon Red
May 28, 2021 – Sophos reports on a new, bare-bones ransomware that offloads most of its functionality to a series of PowerShell scripts
GandCrab
GandCrab 101: All about the most widely distributed ransomware of the moment
March 5, 2019 – A deep dive into a ransomware that dominated the landscape in 2019
Directed attacks against MySQL servers deliver ransomware
May 24, 2019 – Sophos reports on an unknown adversary attacking internet-facing Windows database servers with GandCrab ransomware
LockBit
LockBit ransomware borrows tricks to keep up with REvil and Maze
April 24, 2020 – Sophos reports on how LockBit is implementing techniques and behaviors from other high profile ransomware groups
LockBit uses automated attack tools to identify tasty targets
Oct. 21, 2021 – Sophos reports on how the operators behind LockBit ransomware are using renamed copies of PowerShell and other automated tools to searched for systems with valuable data
Attackers linger on government agency computers before deploying LockBit ransomware
April 12, 2022 – Sophos reports on how attackers breached and then spent five months in a compromised network, Googling for tools to further their attack before exfiltrating data and deploying LockBit ransomware
LockFile
LockFile ransomware’s box of tricks: intermittent encryption and evasion
Aug. 27, 2021 – Sophos discovers a new ransomware family leveraging ProxyShell and using intermittent encryption of files to evade detection by anti-ransomware tools
Matrix
Matrix: Targeted, small scale, canary in the coalmine ransomware
Jan. 30, 2019 – Sophos reports on how the unsophisticated Matrix ransomware succeeds by leveraging vulnerable remote desktops to breach networks and disrupt targets
Maze
Maze ransomware: extorting victims for 1 year and counting
May 12, 2020 – Sophos reports on how the Maze ransomware operators were one of the first ransomware operations to use data theft as a way of coercing victims to pay the ransom demand
Maze attackers adopt Ragnar Locker virtual machine technique
Sep. 17, 2020 – Sophos reports on how Maze operators adopted a cumbersome ransomware delivery technique from Ragnar Locker after several failed attempts to deploy the ransomware
MTR Casebook: Blocking a $15 million Maze ransomware attack
Sep. 22, 2020 – A day-by-day account of the unfolding of a major Maze ransomware attack
MegaCortex
“MegaCortex” ransomware wants to be The One
May 3, 2019 – Sophos reports on a new, sophisticated ransomware group leveraging both automated and manual components
MegaCortex, deconstructed: mysteries mount as analysis continues
May 10, 2019 – A follow on research article including new insight on the ransomware group’s tools, techniques, and misdirection tactics
Memento
New ransomware actor uses password protected archives to bypass encryption protection
Nov. 18, 2021 – Sophos reports on an incident involving the new ransomware group, Memento, that failed to encrypt files so instead copied them into password-protected archives
Midas
Windows services lay the groundwork for a Midas ransomware attack
Jan. 25, 2022 – Sophos reports on a ransomware attack that made extensive use of vulnerable remote access services and PowerShell scripts
Nefilim
Nefilim Ransomware Attack Uses “Ghost” Credentials
Jan. 26, 202 – Sophos reports on an incident where the attackers gained access to the target using the account credentials of a deceased employee
Netwalker
Netwalker ransomware tools give insight into threat actor
May 27, 2020 – Sophos details the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by Netwalker after discovering a trove of malware and related files
ProLock
ProLock ransomware gives you the first 8 kilobytes of decryption for free
July 27, 2020 – Sophos reports on the attack chain and TTPs of this new ransomware
Python
Python ransomware script targets ESXi server for encryption
Oct. 5, 2021 – Sophos reports one of the fastest ransomware attacks it has seen, where a Python script on the target’s virtual machine hypervisor encrypted all virtual disks
RagnarLocker
Ragnar Locker ransomware deploys virtual machine to dodge security
May 21, 2020 – Sophos reports on an incident where the attackers deployed a full virtual machine on each targeted device to hide the ransomware from view
Ragnarok
Asnarök attackers twice modified attack midstream
May 21, 2021 – Sophos reports on how Asnarok attackers try to deploy Ragnarok ransomware through an unpatched firewall
REvil
Relentless REvil, revealed: RaaS as variable as the criminals who use it
June 11, 2021 – Sophos details the different TTPs seen among the affiliate customers of the REvil RaaS
What to expect when you’ve been hit with REvil ransomware
June 30, 2021 – Part of a series designed to help IT administrators facing the impact of an attack involving a particular ransomware family
Independence Day: REvil uses supply chain exploit to attack hundreds of businesses
July 4, 2021 – Sophos details the crypto-extortion attack launched by a REvil affiliate using a malicious update to exploit Kaseya’s VSA remote management service
RobbinHood
Living off another land: Ransomware borrows vulnerable driver to remove security software
Feb. 6, 2020 – Sophos reports on attacks where attackers deployed a legitimate, digitally signed hardware driver to delete security products from targeted computers before deploying RobbinHood ransomware
Ryuk
They’re back: inside a new Ryuk ransomware attack
Oct. 14, 2020 – Sophos reports on the return of Ryuk after a period of quiet, with evolved tools for compromise and ransomware deployment
MTR in Real Time: Pirates pave way for Ryuk ransomware
May 6, 2021 – Sophos reports on an incident where downloading a pirate software program led attackers to breach the network of a research institute and deploy Ryuk ransomware
SamSam
Sophos releases SamSam ransomware report
July 31, 2018 – Sophos releases a deep dive into SamSam ransomware
How a SamSam-like attack happens, and what you can do about it
Nov. 29, 2018 – Sophos details a typical SamSam ransomware attack and how to defend against it
Snatch
Snatch ransomware reboots PCs into Safe Mode to bypass protection
Dec. 9, 2019 – Sophos reports on a novel hybrid data theft-ransomware threat that disables security protections by rebooting Windows machines mid-attack
WannaCry
Sep. 16, 2019 – Sophos reports how, more than two years on, modified WannaCry variants still cause headaches for IT admins and security analysts
WastedLocker
WastedLocker’s techniques point to a familiar heritage
Aug. 4, 2020 – Sophos reports on how WastedLocker evades detection by performing most operations in memory, and shares several characteristics with the Bitpaymer ransomware family
Additional Assets
Collective Reports and Analyses
The Active Adversary Playbook 2022
The Active Adversary Playbook 2021
Insight and Advisory Articles
How the most damaging ransomware evades IT security
The realities of ransomware: Five signs you’re about to be attacked
The realities of ransomware: Extortion goes social in 2020
The realities of ransomware: Why it’s not just a passing fad
The realities of ransomware: A victim’s eye view of an attack
The realities of ransomware: The evasion arms race
Winners and losers in the ransomware turf wars
The top 10 ways ransomware operators ramp up the pressure to pay
Ransomware mishaps: Adversaries have their off days too
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