Security News > 2023 > August > FYI: There's another BlackCat ransomware variant on the prowl
Another version of BlackCat ransomware has been spotted extorting victims.
The BlackCat malware works on Windows and Linux, and is rented out to criminals, who break into targets and run the data-stealing malware, making it a ransomware-as-a-service operation.
For BlackCat affiliates, that reportedly translates to between 80 and 90 percent of the amount paid, we're told.
In a series of social media posts on Thursday, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team said they spotted a new version being used by a BlackCat affiliate in July.
It seems the version Redmond has analyzed is the Sphynx version of BlackCat ransomware that the eggheads at IBM Security X-Force and VX-Underground have been warning about since the spring.
This tool allows miscreants to move laterally across the network, and "Has credential dumping and remote service execution modules that could be used for broad deployment of the BlackCat ransomware in target environments," the Windows giant said.