DeadLock is a ransomware family discovered in July 2025. It is notable for not being associated with any known affiliate programs and for lacking a Data Leak Site (DLS). This, combined with the limited number of reported victims, has resulted in low exposure for the group. However, Group-IB specialists have discovered an interesting use of Polygon smart contracts for proxy server address rotation or distribution.
This finding warrants public attention, especially since the abuse of this specific blockchain for malicious purposes has not been widely reported. In addition, the recent discovery of similar techniques show that the abuse of smart contracts for malicious purposes could become an emerging trend.
Read more…
Source: Group IB
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- SonicWall Releases Security Updates for SMA100 NetExtender for Windows (CVE-2024-29014)
November 27, 2024
SonicWall has released a security update addressing a vulnerability in the Windows (32 and 64-bit) versions of SonicWall SMA100 NetExtender. SMA100 NetExtender is a virtual private network (VPN) client. This vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-29014, may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code when processing an EPC Client update. CVE-2024-29014 was originally assigned a CVSSv3 score of ...
- TaxOff: um, you’ve got a backdoor…
November 27, 2024
In Q3 2024, the Positive Technologies Expert Security Center (PT ESC) TI Department discovered a series of attacks on Russian government agencies. PT ESC researchers were unable to establish any connection with known groups using the same techniques. The main goal was espionage and gaining a foothold to follow through on further attacks. They dubbed the group ...
- Ransomware attack on Blue Yonder disrupts Starbucks, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons
November 27, 2024
Starbucks has confirmed that a ransomware attack on software supplier Blue Yonder has disrupted its internal systems for managing employee schedules and tracking work hours. The incident has primarily affected Starbucks’ North American operations, including approximately 11,000 stores across the United States and Canada. Starbucks says the cyberattack has compromised its ability to track baristas’ hours ...
- Russia-linked hackers exploited Firefox and Windows bugs in ‘widespread’ hacking campaign
November 26, 2024
Security researchers have uncovered two previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities that are being actively exploited by RomCom, a Russian-linked hacking group, to target Firefox browser users and Windows device owners across Europe and North America. Researchers with security firm ESET say they found evidence that RomCom combined use of the two zero-day bugs — described as such ...
- SteelFox Leverages Signed Windows Drivers to Attack Kernel
November 26, 2024
This week, the SonicWall Capture Labs threat research team investigated a sample of SteelFox malware. This is bundled with “software activators” for JetBrains and Foxit PDF readers. During installation, they run as a service and use vulnerable signed Windows drivers to exploit and attack the kernel. Secondarily, cryptominers such as XMRig are run in memory via ...
- Analysis of Elpaco: a Mimic variant
November 26, 2024
In a recent incident response case, Kaspersky dealt with a variant of the Mimic ransomware with some interesting customization features. The attackers were able to connect via RDP to the victim’s server after a successful brute force attack and then launch the ransomware. After that, the adversary was able to elevate their privileges by exploiting the ...