Pro-Russian Hacktivists Launch Branded Ransomware Operations
Summary:
CyberVolk, also referred to as Gloriamist, is a pro-Russian hacktivist group that emerged in May 2024 and quickly evolved from conducting distributed denial-of-service attacks and website defacements to launching ransomware campaigns. By June 2024, the group had established its own ransomware-as-a-service platform, enabling third-party cybercriminals to utilize their ransomware infrastructure for financial gain. This shift marked CyberVolk’s transition from traditional hacktivism to a more complex operation with significant financial and political motivations.
The group’s ransomware operations are deeply tied to the AzzaSec codebase, a ransomware toolkit associated with another pro-Russian hacktivist group active since February 2024. Following the public leak of AzzaSec’s source code in June 2024, CyberVolk rapidly adapted and improved the code, creating a more sophisticated ransomware variant capable of targeting multiple sectors. These enhancements allowed them to extend their reach and amplify the impact of their campaigns. Additionally, CyberVolk actively promotes and collaborates with other ransomware families, including HexaLocker and Parano, demonstrating a cooperative approach among pro-Russian threat actors. This collaboration reflects a broader trend within the pro-Russian cybercriminal ecosystem, where tools, techniques, and resources are often shared to maximize their operational effectiveness.
Analyst Comments:
CyberVolk’s activities are primarily motivated by pro-Russian ideologies and geopolitical objectives. Their campaigns frequently target organizations and critical infrastructure in countries perceived as adversarial to Russia, including NATO member states, Western corporations, and sectors critical to national security. The group employs a wide range of tactics, including DDoS attacks to disrupt operations, ransomware campaigns to encrypt and extort sensitive data, and information operations designed to amplify Russian propaganda and disinformation narratives. Their operations often blend technical attacks with psychological operations, leveraging social media and online platforms to shape public opinion and destabilize their targets.
A notable challenge with CyberVolk is the fluid and dynamic nature of hacktivist groups. Internal conflicts, splintering factions, and rapidly shifting objectives make tracking and attributing their activities difficult. Moreover, their connections to other pro-Russian actors, combined with the reuse and modification of shared toolkits like AzzaSec, create additional attribution hurdles. This interconnectedness with the broader pro-Russian cyber ecosystem underscores the increasing sophistication of hacktivist groups transitioning to financially motivated and politically aligned operations.
Suggested Corrections:
IOCs:
https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/cy...ransomware-fueling-pro-russian-cyber-attacks/
Network and System Hardening:
• Regularly apply security patches and updates to operating systems, software, and firmware to protect against exploitation of known vulnerabilities.
• Implement strict access controls and least privilege principles to limit user permissions and reduce attack surfaces.
• Disable unnecessary services, ports, and protocols to minimize potential entry points.
DDoS Protection:
• Deploy DDoS mitigation solutions, such as web application firewalls and content delivery networks, to absorb and mitigate large-scale traffic floods.
• Monitor network traffic for unusual spikes and establish thresholds to trigger automated defenses.
• Maintain redundancy and scalability in infrastructure to handle traffic surges.
Ransomware Defenses:
• Use robust endpoint protection solutions to detect and block ransomware execution.
• Implement regular, encrypted backups stored offline or in isolated environments to ensure data recovery in case of an attack.
• Enforce email filtering and scanning to detect malicious attachments or phishing attempts used to deliver ransomware payloads.
Multi-Factor Authentication:
• Require MFA for all user accounts, particularly those with privileged access, to prevent unauthorized account use even if credentials are compromised.
Network Segmentation:
• Isolate critical systems and sensitive data from general access networks to limit lateral movement during an attack.
• Segment IoT devices, legacy systems, and external-facing assets to minimize exposure.
Link(s):
https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/cy...ransomware-fueling-pro-russian-cyber-attacks/
CyberVolk, also referred to as Gloriamist, is a pro-Russian hacktivist group that emerged in May 2024 and quickly evolved from conducting distributed denial-of-service attacks and website defacements to launching ransomware campaigns. By June 2024, the group had established its own ransomware-as-a-service platform, enabling third-party cybercriminals to utilize their ransomware infrastructure for financial gain. This shift marked CyberVolk’s transition from traditional hacktivism to a more complex operation with significant financial and political motivations.
The group’s ransomware operations are deeply tied to the AzzaSec codebase, a ransomware toolkit associated with another pro-Russian hacktivist group active since February 2024. Following the public leak of AzzaSec’s source code in June 2024, CyberVolk rapidly adapted and improved the code, creating a more sophisticated ransomware variant capable of targeting multiple sectors. These enhancements allowed them to extend their reach and amplify the impact of their campaigns. Additionally, CyberVolk actively promotes and collaborates with other ransomware families, including HexaLocker and Parano, demonstrating a cooperative approach among pro-Russian threat actors. This collaboration reflects a broader trend within the pro-Russian cybercriminal ecosystem, where tools, techniques, and resources are often shared to maximize their operational effectiveness.
Analyst Comments:
CyberVolk’s activities are primarily motivated by pro-Russian ideologies and geopolitical objectives. Their campaigns frequently target organizations and critical infrastructure in countries perceived as adversarial to Russia, including NATO member states, Western corporations, and sectors critical to national security. The group employs a wide range of tactics, including DDoS attacks to disrupt operations, ransomware campaigns to encrypt and extort sensitive data, and information operations designed to amplify Russian propaganda and disinformation narratives. Their operations often blend technical attacks with psychological operations, leveraging social media and online platforms to shape public opinion and destabilize their targets.
A notable challenge with CyberVolk is the fluid and dynamic nature of hacktivist groups. Internal conflicts, splintering factions, and rapidly shifting objectives make tracking and attributing their activities difficult. Moreover, their connections to other pro-Russian actors, combined with the reuse and modification of shared toolkits like AzzaSec, create additional attribution hurdles. This interconnectedness with the broader pro-Russian cyber ecosystem underscores the increasing sophistication of hacktivist groups transitioning to financially motivated and politically aligned operations.
Suggested Corrections:
IOCs:
https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/cy...ransomware-fueling-pro-russian-cyber-attacks/
Network and System Hardening:
• Regularly apply security patches and updates to operating systems, software, and firmware to protect against exploitation of known vulnerabilities.
• Implement strict access controls and least privilege principles to limit user permissions and reduce attack surfaces.
• Disable unnecessary services, ports, and protocols to minimize potential entry points.
DDoS Protection:
• Deploy DDoS mitigation solutions, such as web application firewalls and content delivery networks, to absorb and mitigate large-scale traffic floods.
• Monitor network traffic for unusual spikes and establish thresholds to trigger automated defenses.
• Maintain redundancy and scalability in infrastructure to handle traffic surges.
Ransomware Defenses:
• Use robust endpoint protection solutions to detect and block ransomware execution.
• Implement regular, encrypted backups stored offline or in isolated environments to ensure data recovery in case of an attack.
• Enforce email filtering and scanning to detect malicious attachments or phishing attempts used to deliver ransomware payloads.
Multi-Factor Authentication:
• Require MFA for all user accounts, particularly those with privileged access, to prevent unauthorized account use even if credentials are compromised.
Network Segmentation:
• Isolate critical systems and sensitive data from general access networks to limit lateral movement during an attack.
• Segment IoT devices, legacy systems, and external-facing assets to minimize exposure.
Link(s):
https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/cy...ransomware-fueling-pro-russian-cyber-attacks/