Security News > 2021 > May > A Closer Look at the DarkSide Ransomware Gang

Here's a closer look at the DarkSide cybercrime gang, as seen through their negotiations with a recent U.S. victim that earns $15 billion in annual revenue.

"We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics, do not need to tie us with a defined government and look for other our motives [sic]," reads an update to the DarkSide Leaks blog.

First surfacing on Russian language hacking forums in August 2020, DarkSide is a ransomware-as-a-service platform that vetted cybercriminals can use to infect companies with ransomware and carry out negotiations and payments with victims.

At its launch, DarkSide sought to woo affiliates from competing ransomware programs by advertising a victim data leak site that gets "Stable visits and media coverage," as well as the ability to publish victim data by stages.

DarkSide also has advertised a willingness to sell information about upcoming victims before their stolen information is published on the DarkSide victim shaming blog, so that enterprising investment scammers can short the company's stock in advance of the news.

Security firm Emsisoft found that almost 2,400 U.S.-based governments, healthcare facilities and schools were victims of ransomware in 2020.

News URL

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/05/a-closer-look-at-the-darkside-ransomware-gang/