Security News > 2022 > July > BlackCat (aka ALPHV) ransomware is increasing stakes up to $2.5 million in demands

Resecurity, a Los Angeles-based cybersecurity company protecting Fortune 500 companies, has detected a significant increase in the value of ransom demand requests by the notorious Blackcat ransomware gang.

Blackcat ransomware is one of the fastest-growing Ransomware-as-a-Service underground groups practicing so called "Quadruple extortion" by pressing victims to pay - leveraging encryption, data theft, denial of service and harassment.

The BlackCat is also known as "ALPHV", or "AlphaVM" and "AphaV", a ransomware family created in the Rust programming language.

ALPHV seems to be significantly competing with Lockbit 3.0 and Conti - another actively developing ransomware syndicates who called ALPHV "Scammers".

ALPHV has been associated with two other ransomware groups: DarkSide and BlackMatter.

While ALPHV denied being a rebrand of DarkSide or BlackMatter, developers and money launderers from ALPHV are linked to DarkSide/BlackMatter, according to the FBI. Therefore, while ALPHV may not be a rebrand, it is likely that the group recruited many members from these now inactive ransomware gangs.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/11/blackcat-alphv-ransomware/