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:
- Most data breaches on enterprise attack the supply chain
February 28, 2024
The vast majority of data breaches happening in the enterprise occurred through the software and technology supply chain. This is according to the Global Third-Party Cybersecurity Breach Report, a new research paper published by the SecurityScorecard security organization. As per the report, 75% of all third-party breaches targeted the software and technology supply chains, mostly because ...
- Investigating Ivanti Connect Secure VPN Exploitation and Persistence Attempts
February 27, 2024
Mandiant and Ivanti’s investigations into widespread Ivanti zero-day exploitation have continued across a variety of industry verticals, including the U.S. defense industrial base sector. Following the initial publication on Jan. 10, 2024, Mandiant observed mass attempts to exploit these vulnerabilities by a small number of China-nexus threat actors, and development of a mitigation bypass exploit targeting ...
- European diplomats targeted by SPIKEDWINE with WINELOADER
February 27, 2024
Zscaler’s ThreatLabz discovered a suspicious PDF file uploaded to VirusTotal from Latvia on January 30th, 2024. This PDF file is masqueraded as an invitation letter from the Ambassador of India, inviting diplomats to a wine-tasting event in February 2024. The PDF also included a link to a fake questionnaire that redirects users to a malicious ZIP ...
- Malicious Apple Shortcuts could bypass security features to steal data
February 23, 2024
Apple Shortcuts could be used to steal sensitive data from Apple devices due to a high-severity vulnerability. Shortcuts is an app created by Apple that allows users to create customized task workflows on Apple devices and automate processes using a combination of built-in functions. Custom shortcuts can be exported and shared with other users, and shortcuts ...
- The Building Resilience to Cognitive Warfare Technical Exchange Meeting
February 23, 2024
In September 2023, MITRE hosted a Technical Exchange Meeting (TEM) titled Building Resilience to Cognitive Warfare with participants from MITRE, the Department of Defense, and the Australian Defense Force, whic h focused on securing the cognitive domain, including identifying national-level partnerships and innovation opportunities. This paper explores the emerging importance of cognitive security in the face ...
- Charlotte Cowles’s $50,000 Scam Article, Anyone Can Become a Victim
February 23, 2024
“You must follow my directions very carefully. We do not have much time.” These are some of the words scammers used to influence and ultimately defraud Charlotte Cowles, a financial columnist at New York Magazine, in an elaborate imposter scam that cost Cowles and her family $50,000. In this one line alone, there are two classic ...