The Cl0p Ransomware Gang Attacks Santa Clara University

The Cl0p ransomware gang has attacked Santa Clara University. Santa Clara University (SCU) is a private Jesuit university located in Santa Clara, California, USA. Founded in 1851, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in California and holds a prominent position in the region's academic landscape. Cl0p posted Santa Clara University to its data leak site on August 21st but provided no further details.

Background on Cl0p

Cl0p is a RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service) platform first observed in 2019. Cl0p has advanced anti-analysis capabilities and anti-virtual machine analysis to prevent investigations in an emulated environment like those commonly used by security tools. Cl0p is increasingly using automation to exploit known vulnerabilities to infiltrate targets, as well as a SQL injection zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362) that installs a web shell – a rarity amongst ransomware operators.

Recent Surge in Attacks

Attacks by Cl0p surged in Q1 of 2023 as the gang leveraged patchable exploits for the GoAnywhere file transfer software to compromise more than 100 victims in a matter of weeks, although it is unknown how well they were able to monetize the attacks. Cl0p is likely to be leveraging automation to identify exposed organizations who have not patched against known vulnerability, which is why we are seeing so many new victims.

Ransom Demands

Ransom demands vary depending on the target and average around $3 million dollars but have been reported as to be as high as $20 million. Ransom amounts are likely to continue to grow as Clop focuses more on the exfiltration of sensitive data.