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:
- Campaigns abusing corporate trusted infrastructure hunt for corporate credentials on ICS networks
January 19, 2022
In 2021, Kaspersky ICS CERT experts noticed a growing number of anomalous spyware attacks infecting ICS computers across the globe. Although the malware used in these attacks belongs to well-known commodity spyware families, these attacks stand out from the mainstream due to a very limited number of targets in each attack and a very short lifetime ...
- CISA: Implement Cybersecurity Measures Now to Protect Against Potential Critical Threats
January 18, 2022
Every organization in the United States is at risk from cyber threats that can disrupt essential services and potentially result in impacts to public safety. Over the past year, cyber incidents have impacted many companies, non-profits, and other organizations, large and small, across multiple sectors of the economy. Most recently, public and private entities in Ukraine ...
- New Ransomware Spotted: White Rabbit and Its Evasion Tactics
January 18, 2022
Thrend Micro researchers spotted the new ransomware family White Rabbit discretely making a name for itself by executing an attack on a local US bank in December 2021. This newcomer takes a page from Egregor, a more established ransomware family, in hiding its malicious activity and carries a potential connection to the advanced persistent threat ...
- DHL, Microsoft, WhatsApp top phishing list of most imitated brands
January 17, 2022
DHL took over the top spot of Check Point Research’s list of the most imitated brands among cybercriminals this year, surpassing Microsoft and Google as the brand used most often in phishing emails and scams. The company’s Q4 Brand Phishing Report for 2021 ranks the top 10 most imitated brands in October, November and December. Researchers ...
- Earth Lusca Employs Sophisticated Infrastructure, Varied Tools and Techniques
January 17, 2022
Since mid-2021, Trend Micro researchers have been investigating a rather elusive threat actor called Earth Lusca that targets organizations globally via a campaign that uses traditional social engineering techniques such as spear phishing and watering holes. The group’s primary motivation seems to be cyberespionage: the list of its victims includes high value targets such as ...
- Cyber espionage campaign targets renewable energy companies
January 17, 2022
A large-scale cyber-espionage campaign targeting primarily renewable energy and industrial technology organizations have been discovered to be active since at least 2019, targeting over fifteen entities worldwide. The campaign was discovered by security researcher William Thomas, a Curated Intelligence trust group member, who employed OSINT (open-source intelligence) techniques like DNS scans and public sandbox submissions. Thomas’ analysis ...