Security News > 2021 > January > DarkSide ransomware decryptor recovers victims' files for free
Romanian cybersecurity firm Bitdefender has released a free decryptor for the DarkSide ransomware to allow victims to recover their files without paying a ransom.
The DarkSide ransomware decryption tool can be downloaded from BitDefender and it will allow you to scan your entire system or just a single folder for encrypted files.
DarkSide operates under a ransomware-as-a-service business model and the gang is made out of former affiliates who have already made millions working with other ransomware operations.
Since the U.S. government has sanctions against Iran, DarkSide ransom payments could be used to pay Iranian hosting providers which could expose victims to fines due to sanction violations.
The release of this free decryptor makes it a lot easier to deal with the aftermath of a DarkSide attack by restoring files on encrypting systems.
DarkSide affiliates will still use the files they steal before deploying the ransomware on the network as a leverage in their extortion attempts.