BlackBasta Ransomware Attack on Bos Logistics

BlackBasta claims a ransomware attack on Bos Logistics in the Netherlands. The group has given the victim a deadline of six days to pay the ransom. Bos Logistics has been a specialist in the field of pre- and after-transport, storage, and transshipment of air freight and sea freight since 1961. They are familiar and experienced with every logistics issue and offer total solutions in transport so that the cargo is always in professional hands from shipping to arrival.

Black Basta is a RaaS that emerged in early 2022 and is assessed by some researchers to be an offshoot of the disbanded Conti and REvil attack groups. The group routinely exfiltrates sensitive data from victims for additional extortion leverage.

Black Basta's Operations

Black Basta engages in highly targeted attacks and is assessed to only work with a limited group of highly vetted affiliate attackers. Black Basta has quickly became one of the most prolific attack groups in 2023 and was observed leveraging unique TTPs for ingress, lateral movement, data exfiltration data, and deployment of ransomware payloads.

Ransom demands vary depending on the targeted organization with reports that they can be as high as $2 million dollars. Black Basta continues to evolve their RaaS platform, with ransomware payloads that can infect systems running both Windows and Linux systems. Black Basta is particularly adept at exploiting vulnerabilities in VMware ESXi running on enterprise servers. Black Basta ransomware is written in C++, can target both Windows and Linux systems, encrypts data with ChaCha20, and then the encryption key is encrypted with RSA-4096 for rapid encryption of the targeted network.

In some cases, Black Basta leverages malware strains like Qakbot and exploits such as PrintNightmare during the infection process. Black Basta also favors abuse of insecure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) deployments, one of the leading infection vectors for ransomware. Black Basta typically targets manufacturing, transportation, construction and related services, telecommunications, the automotive sector, and healthcare providers.

Double Extortion Scheme

Black Basta also employs a double extortion scheme and maintains an active leaks website where they post exfiltrated data if an organization declines to pay the ransom demand.