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:
- Cybercriminals Use Malicious Memes that Communicate with Malware
December 14, 2018
Steganography, or the method used to conceal a malicious payload inside an image to evade security solutions, has long been used by cybercriminals to spread malware and perform other malicious operations. We recently discovered malicious actors using this technique on memes. The malware authors have posted two tweets featuring malicious memes on October 25 and 26 ...
- Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open to IoT Attacks
December 14, 2018
Flaws could allow an attacker to stop or start a home charging station, or even change the current in order to start a fire. Given that creating proof-of-concept (PoC) cyberattacks for the Internet of Things (IoT) is essentially like shooting fish in a barrel these days, perhaps it’s not exactly surprising that a new niche category ...
- LCG Kit: Sophisticated builder for Malicious Microsoft Office Documents
December 13, 2018
Proofpoint researchers discovered “LCG Kit,” a weaponized document builder service, in March 2018. Since we began tracking LCG Kit, we have observed it using the Microsoft Equation Editor CVE-2017-11882 , which has been used used in limited email campaigns. ...
- Tildeb: Analyzing the 18-year-old Implant from the Shadow Brokers’ Leak
December 13, 2018
On April 14, 2017, The Shadow Brokers (TSB) leaked a bevy of hacking tools named “Lost in Translation.” This leak is notorious for having multiple zero-day remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities targeting critical protocols such as Server Message Block (SMB) and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and applications like collaboration and web server-based software. The exploit toolkit includes EternalBlue, ...
- Supply Chain Security: Managing a Complex Risk Profile
December 12, 2018
Experts sound off on how companies can work with their third-party suppliers and partners to secure the end-to-end supply chain. NYC — From Delta Airlines to Best Buy, a number of big-name companies were involved this year in data breaches – but even though their names made headlines, the actual security incidents occurred due to flaws in third-party partners. Across ...
- Operation Sharpshooter Uses Fileless Malware to Attack Global Infrastructure
December 12, 2018
The McAfee Advanced Threat Research team detected a malware campaign dubbed Operation Sharpshooter which attacked nuclear, defense, energy, and financial targets from all over the world. As detailed by McAfee’s research team, the campaign dubbed “Operation Sharpshooter” makes use of an in-memory essential to download and execute a second stage payload named Rising Sun. Moreover, the Rising Sun implant ...