The BlackCat/ALPHV Ransomware Attack on Duncan Disability Law

The BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware gang has attacked Duncan Disability Law. Duncan Disability Law is a social security lawyer headquartered in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. BlackCat/ALPHV posted Duncan Disability Law to its data leak site on July 4th, claiming to have stolen “Internal Company Data, Agreements and much more); – Clients documentation (DL’s, ID’s, SSN’s, Financial data, Loans data, Agreements, and much more); – Complete network map including credentials for local and remote services.”

Overview of BlackCat/ALPHV Ransomware

First observed in late 2021, BlackCat/ALPHV employs a well-developed RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service) platform that encrypts by way of an AES algorithm where the AES key is encrypted using an RSA public key. BlackCat/ALPHV has the ability to disable security tools and evade analysis. BlackCat/ALPHV is thought to be the first ransomware group using RUST, a secure programming language that offers exceptional performance for concurrent processing. The ransomware also leverages Windows scripting to deploy the payload and to compromise additional hosts. The developers have also been linked to DarkSide/BlackMatter ransomware attacks and may simply be a rebranding of those campaigns.

Impact and Tactics of BlackCat/ALPHV

BlackCat/ALPHV also exfiltrates victim data before the execution of the ransomware – including from cloud-based deployments - to be leveraged in double extortion schemes to compel payment of the ransom demand. They have one of the more generous RaaS offerings, offering as much as 80-90% cut to affiliates. BlackCat/ALPHV is also noted for putting their leaks website on the public web instead of the dark web, bringing increased visibility and pressure on impacted organizations to pay the ransom demand.