The Knight Ransomware Gang's Latest Attack

The Knight ransomware gang has attacked Mario De Cecco. Mario De Cecco is a workwear and corporate wear designer, manufacturer, and retailer headquartered in San Giovanni Teatino, Italy. Knight posted Mario De Cecco to its data leak site on October 16th, publishing a sample of the stolen data.

Knight Ransomware's Evolution

Knight ransomware first came to attention in July when the group overhauled the interface and code of the Cyclops ransomware. As part of their operation, they continue to recruit affiliates through the RAMP hacking forum to enhance their ability to steal data from both Windows and Linux systems. In addition to their regular encryptors, the Knight ransomware operation offers a 'lite' version suitable for spam, spray-and-pray, and batch distribution campaigns.

Deceptive Tactics Employed

The Knight ransomware gang employs an HTML attachment labeled 'TripAdvisor-Complaint-[random].PDF.htm,' which redirects users to a deceptive web browser interface impersonating TripAdvisor. Within this simulated browser window, users are prompted to review a restaurant complaint, but it is, in fact, a ruse. When users click on the 'Read Complaint' button, an Excel file titled 'TripAdvisor_Complaint-Possible-Suspension.xll' is downloaded onto their system. This download subsequently triggers the activation of ransomware.

The Knight Lite ransomware encryptor, injected into a new explorer.exe process, is utilized to encrypt files on targeted computers. Following encryption, the encrypted files' names are appended with the '.knight_1' extension, where '1' indicates the lite version. Subsequently, the ransomware generates a ransom note in each folder on the compromised computer, demanding a payment of $5,000 to be sent to a provided Bitcoin address.