DeadLock Ransomware: Smart Contracts for Malicious Purposes


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:

  • Cybercrime on agriculture operations and businesses is on the rise

    April 9, 2024

    When it comes to cyberattacks, ransomware and electronic fraud, farms and ranches are attracting the interest of hackers because they see these agriculture operations as potentially lucrative targets that may not have up-to-date fraud protection tools in place. Cathy Lennon, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, says every point along the agrifood chain has ...

  • NHS board warns patients of further data leak after cyber attack

    April 9, 2024

    An NHS board has warned patients that further personal information could be leaked by cyber criminals who stole medical data in a major cyber attack. A large amount of confidential data was taken from NHS Dumfries and Galloway during a sustained hacking attack. Last week, INC Ransom, an extortion operation, posted a message on its dark ...

  • Critical takeover vulnerabilities in 92,000 D-Link devices under active exploitation

    April 8, 2024

    Hackers are actively exploiting a pair of recently discovered vulnerabilities to remotely commandeer network-attached storage devices manufactured by D-Link, researchers said Monday. Roughly 92,000 devices are vulnerable to the remote takeover exploits, which can be remotely transmitted by sending malicious commands through simple HTTP traffic. The vulnerability came to light two weeks ago. The researcher said ...

  • ScrubCrypt Deploys VenomRAT with an Arsenal of Plugins

    April 8, 2024

    Last year, FortiGuard Labs uncovered the 8220 Gang’s utilization of ScrubCrypt to launch attacks targeting exploitable Oracle WebLogic Servers. ScrubCrypt has been described as an “antivirus evasion tool” that converts executables into undetectable batch files. It offers several options to manipulate malware, making it more challenging for antivirus products to detect. FortiGuard Labs recently discovered a ...

  • Vet firm CVS hit by cyber-attack

    April 8, 2024

    Vet group CVS says it has been hit by a cyber-attack which has caused “considerable” disruption, particularly to its UK business. CVS, which runs about 500 veterinary practices globally and employs more than 9,000 people, said it had taken immediate action and its IT services had now been “securely restored” across most of the group. Read more… Source: ...

  • Evolving Threat Landscape: A Deep Dive into Multichannel Attacks Targeting Retailers

    April 8, 2024

    Threat actors no longer operate in silos. Today, they use multiple channels such as SMS, email, fake web pages, and compromised cloud accounts. They use these various channels to establish persistence and compromise identities so that they can elevate privileges and move laterally. Proofpoint Threat Research recently observed campaigns in which threat actors used multichannel attacks ...