An infection with Blackbasta, (or any ransomware) is characterised by your systems displaying a notice like the one shown here, with the perpetrator, a specialist cybercrime group, holding your infected systems and stolen data hostage until you pay a ransom.
If you discover a physical break-in at your offices, your first instinct would be to call the police; touch nothing and let them search for clues to find the perpetrator. Then, your attention would turn towards getting your business operations back up and running.
A cyber-attack requires the same approach. Your digital environment is a CRIME SCENE. It is crucial to leave the environment untouched to allow for a forensic investigation.
This is not a task for your IT team or MSP. Digital Forensic specialists available 24/7 to assist you, just like in a physical crime.
BlackBasta, with links to Russia, emerged in early 2022 as a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) criminal organisation and quickly became one of the most active threats globally. Deploying highly targeted attacks, BlackBasta has targeted organisations across the globe, from the US and Canada to the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Employing double extortion tactics, BlackBasta encrypts critical data and cripples’ servers, whilst threatening to expose sensitive information on its public leak site. The group's approach closely mirrors that of the now-defunct Conti threat actor group, as evidenced by similarities in malware development and preferred methods of communication regarding negotiations.
In April 2022, the group started advertising its intent to purchase corporate network access and share profits with affiliated initial access brokers (IABs). After gaining initial access, BlackBasta employs various second-stage tactics to acquire Windows Domain credentials, move laterally within the target's network, steal sensitive data, and deploy ransomware.
Additionally, BlackBasta has been associated with the FIN7, also known as Carbanak, threat actor group. This connection is apparent through similarities in custom Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) evasion modules and the overlapping use of IP addresses for command and control (C2) operations.
BlackBasta employ double extortion tactics to amplify the impact and urgency of their demands. In a double extortion scheme, the perpetrators not only encrypt the data but also threaten to release or sell it if their ransom demands are not met.
This dual-threat strategy significantly increases the pressure on the victim organisation to comply with the ransom demands.
BlackBasta is believed to have begun its operations in 2022. However, its core membership is thought to have originated from the now-defunct Conti threat actor group. Similar to other cybercriminal organisations, each time a group is disbanded, a new one often emerges to take its place, making the exact founding date of BlackBasta unclear.
To date, Blackbasta has compromised 516 organisations.
Solace Cyber’s track record includes hundreds of successful response recoveries, providing Digital Forensic Incident Response services, 24x7x365.
“32% of UK businesses and 24% of charities experienced cyber security breaches or attacks in the past 12 months, with a significant portion of these being ransomware incidents.”
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Solace Global was founded in 2010 as global experts in risk management and security, offering services such as Travel, Crisis, and Offshore Risk Management. With a 24/7 Security Operations Centre and an in-house intelligence team providing daily and weekly reports, Solace Global is accredited to ISO 27001, 14001, 45001, and 9001 standards.
Solace Cyber was established in 2021, specialising in Cyber breaches, particularly Digital Forensics and Incident Response, Ransomware, Risk Management, and Information Security, along with Managed Security Services. The leadership team collectively possess over 20 years of experience in the IT and security industry.
Solace Cyber is accredited to ISO 27001 and in 2022 gained the prestigious Cyber Incident Response (Level 2) accreditation with the National Cyber Security Centre in 2022. This accreditation represents the UK’s highest cyber security standards, providing top-tier incident response support and recovery.
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A forensic analysis needs to be meticulous and a clean restore and recovery requires a wealth of experience not normally available in an in-house team who must provide a broader range of IT support skills:
Solace Cyber was established precisely for this scenario. We have a well-defined process for handling cyber-attacks like BlackBasta, which involves a 6-step approach:
It includes a thorough digital forensic analysis from step 2 where the output becomes a central component of business recovery. This is because understanding the attack is of critical importance:
It is critical that the analysis of digital evidence is carried out to an agreed plan. This will have been designed to provide the best and earliest chance of discovering a root cause, which is essential to inform remediation/eradication and recovery as well as supporting a legal take-down case if this is applicable. A legal take-down means we can assist in the legal enforcement that stops the criminals from publishing the data, thus undermining the ransom notice.
Solace’s Digital Forensic and Incident Response teams maintain consistent communication throughout. Dedicated Incident Managers and technical engineering leads provide updates during the Cyber Incident Response journey, utilising risk registers and working within change management processes, all from triage through to post-incident, delivering successful business recovery.
The BlackBasta ransomware entered your system by one of several ways:
We recommend you adopt policies to:
After recovering from BlackBasta, Solace Cyber recommends that you update your business continuity plan to account for lessons learnt during this attack & recovery.
Most ransomware breaches cost approximately £500K, while smaller email data breaches typically cost around £50K. There is a critical balance between preserving the environment for forensic analysis and quickly recovering it to minimise business interruption. The costs increase the longer it takes to identify and resolve the breach.
A cyber security insurance claim is complex, covering reasonable expenses for investigating and remediating an incident, along with legal fees, business interruption, criminal liability, employment liability, and ransom payments. Although the insurance industry is responsible for facilitating business recovery, cyber insurance is viewed as volatile, and many policies are not being validated correctly.
Finding your way through demands expertise, and that's where Solace Cyber can offer assistance.
Criminal organisations like BlackBasta are paid by affiliates to launch cyber-attacks using their specific brand of malware that is known for its swift and efficient encryption capabilities. Even if the ransom is paid, the likelihood of having files decrypted and data restored is minimal, underscoring the necessity of employing a ransomware incident response team.
The NCSC have documented the deliberations for paying ransomware: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/ransomware/home
Important Reminder: It is a criminal offense to pay money to people who are subject to financial sanctions. The list of who is subject to financial sanctions is constantly changing.
The latest iteration can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-consolidated-list-of-targets
Yes. There's a possibility that some of the lost data falls under the category of "Personal Data" belonging to your customers. It's your legal responsibility to safeguard this data, even if it has been lost. Additionally, you may need to notify the Information Commissioner's Office - https://ico.org.uk/.
Your insurer or legal counsel will provide guidance on the necessary steps and how to move forward in this situation. Solace has experience collaborating with insurers and legal professionals and can offer support in managing this relationship during this challenging period.
A ransomware attack presents the most significant threat to your business by:
In the event of a business interruption, determining your position in the supply chain for any item and sustaining operations become challenges. If the disruption persists, maintaining business continuity becomes paramount. Moreover, upon restoration of systems and data, addressing any backlog of work and establishing operational protocols for the future becomes essential.
Ransomware ranks only behind receivership in terms of its capacity to incapacitate a business.
The NCSC is the UK National Cyber Security Centre. They provide cyber security guidance and support, helping to make the UK the safest place to live and work online. They have defined a Cyber Incident Response procedure and they have approved and accredited suppliers to provide this service.
As a recognised Assured Service Provider by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Solace Cyber provide comprehensive cyber risk management services that are designed to Protect, Detect & Mitigate cyber security threats across the UK.
Action Fraud is the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Whether you have been scammed, defrauded, or experienced cybercrime in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, Action Fraud offers a central point of contact for information on fraud and financially motivated cybercrime.
In the event of a BlackBasta ransom attack on your systems, STAY CALM.
DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM, ATTEMPT TO RESTORE, OR OVERWRITE ANY DATA (explanation above).
Reach out to Solace Cyber at 01202 308818 or complete our form for a callback from one of our specialists.
We'll respond promptly to minimize your business's downtime.
Solace Cyber, part of Solace Global, helps companies across the UK recover from ransomware attacks and data breaches.
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