FBI, others crush REvil using ransomware gang's favorite tactic against it

[Sgent]

Source: Ars Technica



Well, apparently, whoever relaunched REvil wasn’t the brightest bulb. Last night, Reuters reported that several countries working together took down the ransomware gang using one of the criminal organization’s favorite tactics—compromised backups.

Though the FBI isn’t commenting on the matter, private-sector cybersecurity experts and a former US official confirmed the operation, Reuters reports. “The FBI, in conjunction with Cyber Command, the Secret Service, and like-minded countries, have truly engaged in significant disruptive actions against these groups,” Tom Kellermann, VMware’s head of cybersecurity strategy and an adviser to the US Secret Service on cybercrime investigations, told Reuters. “REvil was top of the list.”



The newfound success against the slippery gang stems in part from the new legal freedom to pursue such criminal operations. US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco recently determined that ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure are a national security threat on par with terrorism. That allowed the Justice Department to bring in assistance from the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies.

“Before, you couldn’t hack into these forums, and the military didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” Kellermann said. “Since then, the gloves have come off.”



Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/fbi-others-crush-revil-using-ransomware-gangs-favorite-tactic-against-it/?comments=1&start=40

---

So Biden has unleashed the hounds as it were. I'm not sure how I feel about offensive cyberoperations being carried out by the military / NSA against Russian civilians, but maybe this will have an effect.

[3Hotdogs]

1. Yeah, Biden released the hounds. But

until he releases the Kraken, we know he ain't serious about the problem.

[Marthe48]

4. Or release The Biden :)

There was a meme when Mr. Obama was President.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Well

the Flyers beat them 6-1 this past Monday so they might not be that big of a thing...



They were no match for Gritty!





(and the Prez would agree )

[ancianita]

2. I trust US Deputy AG Monaco's judgment that these are on par with terrorist attacks.

These operations sound defensive, not offensive. They only look offensive when we win.

[RussBLib]

3. isn't this the group that hacked Sinclair?

Last edited Fri Oct 22, 2021, 05:51 PM - Edit history (1)

or is that the "Evil Corp" that hacked Sinclair?

is it the same group?

[Sgent]

5. No idea

but possibly.

This one attacked the oil pipeline and infiltrated a computer security firm which gave them access to over 1500 organizations.

[Marthe48]

6. Our local hospital was hacked in August

I am glad that we are finally acting to defend the entities at risk.

[SheltieLover]

12. +1,000!

[Historic NY]

7. He told Putin he was going to stop the cyber attacks one way or another

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/politics/biden-putin-call-syria-ransomware/index.html]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57786302]

[NoNobigwick]

9. You assume civilians.

If it is Russian, it is Putin.

[ShazzieB]

11. Putin's not directly involved, though.

The keyword being "directly."

The Russian government’s relationship with criminal hackers is different than that of other adversarial powers, like China or North Korea.

~snip~

China’s control of its hackers is similar to the kind of tight restrictions it places on society, business and its propaganda efforts.

But the Russian government has a different approach. Moscow allows oligarchs and criminal groups to follow their own plans, so long as they do not challenge the Kremlin and are generally working toward President Vladimir V. Putin’s goals, according to American government officials.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/us/politics/russia-ransomware-hackers.html

[SheltieLover]

13. This!👆

[Eugene]

14. But when Russia asks them to do a favor, they will grant it.

[Pepsidog]

10. Before 2022 or 2024 election I fear a foreign cyber attack that seriously disrupts our country

that a tough talking fascist with a brain will be elected in a landslide. It’s like the oil pipeline earlier this year caused panic and chaos. Something like that happens again and takes out the internet or electrical grid would be all the reason a tough talking right wing fascist needs to get elected. The right exploits imaginary made-up crisis what happens when there is a real crisis that causes massive disruptions happens. We aren’t ready for that and the pandemic has exposed many of our weaknesses.

[denbot]

15. The fire needs..

More fire. Throw every possible attack at them. At some point one of these rouge units can bring down a national economy if left to thrive.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

16. This would not have happened if TFG got a second term.

Joe Biden and crew: "Don't Mess With The US"

[BadGimp]

17. A few thoughts of mine...

I've been following Ransomware for quite a while, and have learned a great deal about the subject since. The threat has always been there but it has now scaled to become a major global economic risk factor.

The Biden administration's actions stand in stark contrast to the absolute inaction of the TGS. Especially when you take into consideration how much of the Ransomware attacks have links to Russian aligned countries/players.

After 9/11, we saw the effect of bringing the entire capability of our US military and intelligence resources to bear on a serious global problem. The problem now as we are about to learn, is we are creating something much worse than a double edge sword. I worry that turning our Military into an offensive cyber force will create a monster that will likely be used in the not too distant future by corrupted players against US.