US Reiterates $10 Million Reward Offer After Disruption of Hive Ransomware

us-reiterates-$10-million-reward-offer-after-disruption-of-hive-ransomware

Following the shutdown of the Hive ransomware operation by law enforcement, the US government has reminded the public that a reward of up to $10 million is offered for information on cybercriminals.

Authorities in the United States and Europe announced on Thursday the results of a major law enforcement operation targeting the Hive ransomware. More than a dozen agencies collaborated to take down the Tor-based leak website used by the group and other parts of its infrastructure, including servers located in Los Angeles.

The FBI revealed that Hive’s ‘control panel’ was hacked by agents in July 2022, allowing them to identify targets and obtain decryption keys that allowed victims to recover encrypted files. The FBI and Europol said they prevented the payment of more than $130 million to the cybercriminals. 

The Hive ransomware operation was launched in June 2021 and it has since made more than 1,500 victims across roughly 80 countries. It’s believed that administrators and affiliates made approximately $100 million from ransom payments. 

Authorities continue to investigate Hive in an effort to identify the threat actors involved in the operation, including developers, administrators and affiliates. 

After the operation against Hive was announced on Thursday, the US State Department reiterated that it’s prepared to pay up to $10 million for information on the identity or location of foreign state-sponsored threat actors that have targeted critical infrastructure. This includes individuals linked to Hive. 

At least some of the people involved in the Hive ransomware operation are believed to be Russian speakers. However, during a press conference announcing the law enforcement operation against Hive on Thursday, US officials refused to comment on potential ties to Russia, citing the ongoing investigation. 

The US government previously reiterated its $10 million reward offer for leaders of the Conti ransomware operation, North Korean hackers, Russian intelligence officers, and DarkSide ransomware operators.

Related: US Government Shares Photo of Alleged Conti Ransomware Associate

Related: US Offers $10 Million Reward Against Election Interference

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US Infiltrates Big Ransomware Gang: ‘We Hacked the Hackers’

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The FBI has at least temporarily dismantled the network of a prolific ransomware gang it infiltrated last year, saving victims including hospitals and school districts a potential $130 million in ransom payments, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other U.S. officials announced Thursday.

“Simply put, using lawful means we hacked the hackers,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at a news conference.

Officials said the targeted syndicate, known as Hive, operates one of the world’s top five ransomware networks. The FBI quietly gained access to its control panel in July and was able to obtain software keys to decrypt the network of some 1,300 victims globally, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. Officials credited German police and other international partners.

It was not immediately clear how the takedown will affect Hive’s long-term operations, however. Officials did not announce any arrests but said they were building a map of Hive’s administrators, who manage the software, and affiliates, who infect targets and negotiate with victims, to pursue prosecutions.
“I think anyone involved with Hive should be concerned because this investigation is ongoing,” Wray said.

On Wednesday night, FBI agents seized computer infrastructure in Los Angeles that was used to support the network. Hive’s dark web site was also seized.

“Cybercrime is a constantly evolving threat, but as I have said before, the Justice Department will spare no resource to bring to justice anyone anywhere that targets the United States with a ransomware attack,” Wray said.

Garland said that thanks to the infiltration, led by the FBI’s Tampa office, agents were able in one instance to disrupt a Hive attack against a Texas school district, stopping it from making a $5 million payment.

The operation is a big win for the Justice Department. The ransomware scourge is the world’s biggest cybercrime headache with everything from Britain’s postal service and Ireland’s national health service to Costa Rica’s government crippled by Russian-speaking syndicates that enjoy Kremlin protection. The criminals lock up, or encrypt, victims’ computer networks, steal sensitive data and demand large sums.

As an example of Hive’s threat, Garland said it had prevented a hospital in the Midwest in 2021 from accepting new patients at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic.

A U.S. government advisory last year said Hive ransomware actors victimized over 1,300 companies worldwide from June 2021 through November 2022, receiving approximately $100 million in ransom payments. It said criminals using Hive ransomware targeted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure, including government, manufacturing and especially health care and public health facilities.

The threat captured the attention of the highest levels of the Biden administration two years ago after a series of high-profile attacks that threatened critical infrastructure and global industry. In May 2021, for instance, hackers targeted the nation’s largest fuel pipeline, causing the operators to briefly shut it down and make a multimillion-dollar ransom payment that the U.S. government largely recovered.

Federal officials have used a variety of tools to try to combat the problem, but conventional law enforcement measures such as arrests and prosecutions have done little to frustrate the criminals.

The FBI has obtained access to decryption keys before. It did so in the case of a major 2021 ransomware attack on Kaseya, a company whose software runs hundreds of websites. It took some heat, however, for waiting several weeks to help victims unlock afflicted networks.

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Hive Ransomware Operation Apparently Shut Down by Law Enforcement

hive-ransomware-operation-apparently-shut-down-by-law-enforcement

The Hive ransomware operation appears to have been shut down as part of a major law enforcement operation involving agencies in 10 countries. 

A message displayed in English and Russian on the Hive ransomware operation’s Tor-based website reads: The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized this site as part of a coordinated law enforcement action taken against Hive Ransomware.

Another message says the action was taken in coordination with Europol and authorities in Florida, which indicates that more details will likely be made available in the upcoming period by the Justice Department and Europol.

Until law enforcement agencies confirm the shutdown of Hive, there is a slight chance that the website seizure notice was posted by the cybercriminals themselves. Hacker groups falsely claiming to have been shut down by police is not unheard of. 

However, Allan Liska, a ransomware expert working for threat intelligence company Recorded Future, reported that the Hive infrastructure was seized. Liska also posted an image showing that many well-known ransomware groups have fallen.

The US government reported in November 2022 that the Hive ransomware gang had hit more than 1,300 businesses and made an estimated $100 million in ransom payments.

Data collected by the DarkFeed deep web intelligence project shows that Hive was still active last week. 

The Hive ransomware operation was launched in 2021. Offered under a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model, the ransomware was often used against organizations in the healthcare sector, as well as other critical infrastructure. 

The hackers used malware to encrypt the target’s files, but not before stealing data that could be used to pressure the victim into paying up. 

A free decryptor for files encrypted with the Hive ransomware was released by a South Korean cybersecurity agency in the summer of 2022. 

Related: Russia Lays the Smackdown on REvil Ransomware Gang

Related: Six Arrested for Roles in Clop Ransomware Operation

Related: DarkSide Ransomware Shutdown: An Exit Scam or Running for Hills?

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Thoma Bravo to Buy Magnet Forensics in Billion-Dollar Deal

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Thoma Bravo’s shopping spree in the cybersecurity lane is showing no signs of slowing down.

The private equity giant has announced plans to spend $1.3 billion to acquire Canadian software firm Magnet Forensics, a deal that expands Thoma Bravo’s push into the lucrative cybersecurity category.

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