The LockBit 3.0 ransomware is an update of its original version. And despite its recent release, it has already been drawing attention with new bug bounty systems and company exposure.
With the fall and deactivation of other ransomware groups, Cyberthint reported that LockBit has been gaining prominence, being responsible for more than 60 attacks, representing 32% of the invasions in the month of June 2022.
And now with its version 3.0, the group has increased the bug bounty system in its RaaS (Ransomware as Service). The project was already in the testing phase since April 2022, and the method is based on paying people who are able to detect any flaws, vulnerabilities or suggest “bright ideas” for ransomware.
The group is also bringing concerns to businesses, as on their website they are reporting which companies are being encrypted by the ransomware. As well as allowing anyone to influence the attack, they can pay to destroy all the files, download the data among other options.
As much as LockBit was not the first group to use bug bounty, it is the first time a ransomware is seen using this program.
In a note posted on its website, LockBit says:“We invite all security researchers, ethical and unethical hackers on the planet to participate in our bug bounty program. Rewards range from $1,000 to $1 million.” And for contributors to receive their rewards they are challenged to report the items listed below.
- Website Bugs: Reporting vulnerabilities, getting a site access shell and other site related challenges is one of the items that can bring employees remuneration.
- Encryptor Bugs: Exposing bugs during ransomware execution that result in data loss, or keyless ways of decryption also brings contributors access to rewards.
- Bright Ideas: Suggestions for improvements, features of competitors that they don’t already have, and the like.
- Doxing: Perhaps the toughest challenge on this list. LockBit is willing to pay for those who are able to dox the head of the program.
- TOX Messenger: Flaws in the messaging device used by the group, any interesting vulnerabilities, LockBit will reward those who report them.
- Tor Network: Information that helps obtain the IP where the onion domain is allocated, entitles contributors to rewards.
For each piece of information, the group assesses the value and makes its payments using cryptocurrencies. With the update, the virtual currency Zcash was also added as a payment method, making the group’s secrecy even more efficient. Currently, ransom payments or bounty bug rewards are made by Bitcoin, Monero and Zcash.
The slogan adopted by the group is “Make Ransomware Great Again!”, this shows that they are committed to reaching the top of ransomware, and their update makes this evident. Therefore the risk to businesses tends to grow.
Knowing this, ransomware groups are not the only ones updating. Recovery companies are also dedicated day and night working to perfect their methods to deal with attacks.
Recover files encrypted by LockBit 3.0 ransomware
Digital Recovery specialises in the recovery of data encrypted by ransomware. And has been in the market for over 20 years bringing solutions, without negotiating with the criminals.
In each case we seek to give the client the best results. And to ensure a job well done, we do all our procedures within the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We know how sensitive information is to attacks by hackers. With this in mind, we have created our NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). This guarantees the confidentiality of all victim data.
Therefore, if you need to recover files on storage devices, databases, virtual machines, RAID systems, and other storage devices. Contact us and start a diagnosis now.
