BlackCat Ransomware Group Implodes After Apparent $22M Payment by Change Healthcare

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:22:56 +0000

There are indications that U.S. healthcare giant Change Healthcare has made a $22 million extortion payment to the infamous BlackCat ransomware group (a.k.a. “ALPHV”) as the company struggles to bring services back online amid a cyberattack that has disrupted prescription drug services nationwide for weeks. However, the cybercriminal who claims to have given BlackCat access to Change’s network says the crime gang cheated them out of their share of the ransom, and that they still have the sensitive data that Change reportedly paid the group to destroy. Meanwhile, the affiliate’s disclosure appears to have prompted BlackCat to cease operations entirely. 

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Fulton County, Security Experts Call LockBit’s Bluff

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 22:18:54 +0000

The ransomware group LockBit told officials with Fulton County, Ga. they could expect to see their internal documents published online this morning unless the county paid a ransom demand. Instead, LockBit removed Fulton County’s listing from its victim shaming website this morning, claiming county officials had paid. But county officials said they did not pay, nor did anyone make payment on their behalf. Security experts say LockBit was likely bluffing and probably lost most of the data when the gang’s servers were seized this month by U.S. and U.K. law enforcement.

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FBI’s LockBit Takedown Postponed a Ticking Time Bomb in Fulton County, Ga.

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2024 02:17:55 +0000

The FBI’s takedown of the LockBit ransomware group last week came as LockBit was preparing to release sensitive data stolen from government computer systems in Fulton County, Ga. But LockBit is now regrouping, and the gang says it will publish the stolen Fulton County data on March 2 unless paid a ransom. LockBit claims the cache includes documents tied to the county’s ongoing criminal prosecution of former President Trump, but court watchers say teaser documents published by the crime gang suggest a total leak of the Fulton County data could put lives at risk and jeopardize a number of other criminal trials.

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Feds Seize LockBit Ransomware Websites, Offer Decryption Tools, Troll Affiliates

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2024 17:09:00 +0000

U.S. and U.K. authorities have seized the darknet websites run by LockBit, a prolific and destructive ransomware group that has claimed more than 2,000 victims worldwide and extorted over $120 million in payments. Instead of listing data stolen from ransomware victims who didn’t pay, LockBit’s victim shaming website now offers free recovery tools, as well as news about arrests and criminal charges involving LockBit affiliates.

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