Kaseya VSA ransomware attack (2021): Difference between revisions
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|On 23 July, Kaseya announced it had received a universal decryptor tool for the REvil-encrypted files from an unnamed "trusted third party" and was helping victims restore their files.<ref>Joe Tidy, [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57946117 Ransomware key to unlock customer data from REvil attack], BBC (23 July 2021)</ref>
It is interesting that this was a universal decryptor key. This situation was explained by REvil on 9 September in an illicit Russian-language forum as “One of our coders misclicked and generated a universal key, and issued the universal decryptor key along with a bunch of keys for one machine. That’s how we sh*t ourselves.”<ref>Michael Novinson, [https://www.crn.com/news/security/revil-we-accidentally-leaked-kaseya-universal-decryptor-key REvil: We Accidentally Leaked Kaseya Universal Decryptor Key], CRN (10 September 2021)</ref>
On 8 November 2021, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of Yaroslav Vasinskyi, an Ukrainian national detained in Poland in October,<ref>Mitchell Clark, [https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/8/22770701/revil-ransomware-arrest-kaseya-crypto-europol-cybersecurity An alleged member of the REvil ransomware gang has been arrested in Poland], The Verge (8 November 2021)</ref> charged for allegedly deploying the REvil ransomware attack against Kaseya.<ref>US Department of Justice, [https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ukrainian-arrested-and-charged-ransomware-attack-kaseya Ukrainian Arrested and Charged with Ransomware Attack on Kaseya], Press Release (8 November 2021); Ryan Gallagher and Jack Gillum, [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-08/interpol-arrest-five-alleged-members-behind-revil-ransomware Police Arrest Five Members Tied to the REvil Ransomware Gang], Bloomberg (8 November 2021)</ref> In addition, in January 2022, Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested 14 alleged members of the REvil gang.<ref>Kevin Collier, [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/russia-arrests-ransomware-gang-responsible-high-profile-cyberattacks-rcna12235 Russia arrests ransomware gang responsible for high-profile cyberattacks], NBC News (14 January 2022)</ref> The authorities claim to have dismantled the group and charged several of its members,<ref>Joe Tidy, [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59998925 REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia], BBC, (14 January 2022)</ref> acting on the basis of information provided by the US.<ref>Joe Tidy, [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59998925 REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia], BBC (14 January 2022)</ref>
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Revision as of 11:44, 4 March 2022
Date | The attack took place on 2nd July 2021.[1] |
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Suspected actor | REvil (i.e., Ransomware Evil[2]) group, which is also known as Sodinokibi.[3] It is a Russian speaking and Russia-based Ransomware as-a-service (RaaS) gang. Moreover, according to Lawfare, "It really is the McDonald's of the criminal world with a very high profile".[4] |
Target | Kaseya, a global IT infrastructure provider.[4] |
Target systems | In general, the target systems were using Virtual System Administrator (VSA) software. The reason why Kaseya VSA was an attractive target is that this software is used by managed service providers (MSP),[4] which includes thousands of small businesses.[5] |
Method | The attack was first detected as a supply chain attack. This idea was supported by US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI.[6] Nevertheless, a question arose later whether Kaseya was not facing a more conventional exploit attack targeting Kaseya VSA,[7] [4] as it was not clear if the aimed upstream (VSA) was targeted for purpose of scaling downstream exploitation or not. Nevertheless, the conclusion was that it was a supply chain attack.[8] |
Purpose | Primarily causing economic loss to Kaseya and its customers.[9] REvil in a post on their leak site announced that the universal decryption key was worth $70 million in BTC. This amount was the highest ransom demand to date.[10] |
Result | According to Reuters, between 800 and 1500 businesses worldwide were affected by the attack.[11] One of the victims is also Coop, a Swedish chain of supermarkets, which was forced to close over more than half of its stores in Sweden.[12] Moreover, the ransomware attack also hit 11 schools in New Zealand.[13] |
Aftermath | On 23 July, Kaseya announced it had received a universal decryptor tool for the REvil-encrypted files from an unnamed "trusted third party" and was helping victims restore their files.[14]
It is interesting that this was a universal decryptor key. This situation was explained by REvil on 9 September in an illicit Russian-language forum as “One of our coders misclicked and generated a universal key, and issued the universal decryptor key along with a bunch of keys for one machine. That’s how we sh*t ourselves.”[15] On 8 November 2021, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of Yaroslav Vasinskyi, an Ukrainian national detained in Poland in October,[16] charged for allegedly deploying the REvil ransomware attack against Kaseya.[17] In addition, in January 2022, Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested 14 alleged members of the REvil gang.[18] The authorities claim to have dismantled the group and charged several of its members,[19] acting on the basis of information provided by the US.[20] |
Analysed in | Scenario 14: Ransomware campaign |
Collected by: Anna Blechová
- ↑ RBS, The Kaseya Attack: Everything to Know, Risk Based Security (12 July 2021)
- ↑ Lucian Constantin, REvil ransomware explained: A widespread extortion operation, CSO Online (17 November 2020)
- ↑ Cahrlie Osborn, Updated Kaseya ransomware attack FAQ:What we know now, ZDNet, (23 July 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Nicolas Weaver, What Happened in the Kesaya VSA Incident?, Lawfare ( 4 July 2021)
- ↑ Davey Winder, $70 Million Demanded As REvil Ransomware Attackers Claim 1 Million Systems Hit, Forbes (5 July 2021)
- ↑ CISA-FBI Guidance for MSPs and their Customers Affected by the Kaseya VSA Supply-Chain Ransomware Attack (4 July 2021)
- ↑ RBS, Is the Kaseya Hack Actually a Supply Chain Attack?, Risk Based Security (14 July 2021)
- ↑ Matt Howard, Kaseya Ransomware: a Software Supply Chain Attack or Not?, sonatype (6 July 2021)
- ↑ Alex Marquardt, Ransomware group demands $70 million for Kaseya attack, CNN (5 July 2021)
- ↑ Ionut Ilascu, REvil ransomware asks $70 million to decrypt all Kaseya attack victims, BleepingComputer (5 July 2021)
- ↑ Raphael Satter, Up to 1,500 businesses affected by ransomware attack, U.S. firm’s CEO says, Reuters ( 6 July 2021)
- ↑ Joe Tidy, Swedish Coop supermarkets shut due to US ransomware cyber-attack, BBC (3 July 2021)
- ↑ Worldwide ransomware attack: St Peter’s College and 10 other schools hit by US cyber attack, NZHerald (4 July 2021)
- ↑ Joe Tidy, Ransomware key to unlock customer data from REvil attack, BBC (23 July 2021)
- ↑ Michael Novinson, REvil: We Accidentally Leaked Kaseya Universal Decryptor Key, CRN (10 September 2021)
- ↑ Mitchell Clark, An alleged member of the REvil ransomware gang has been arrested in Poland, The Verge (8 November 2021)
- ↑ US Department of Justice, Ukrainian Arrested and Charged with Ransomware Attack on Kaseya, Press Release (8 November 2021); Ryan Gallagher and Jack Gillum, Police Arrest Five Members Tied to the REvil Ransomware Gang, Bloomberg (8 November 2021)
- ↑ Kevin Collier, Russia arrests ransomware gang responsible for high-profile cyberattacks, NBC News (14 January 2022)
- ↑ Joe Tidy, REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia, BBC, (14 January 2022)
- ↑ Joe Tidy, REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia, BBC (14 January 2022)