The LockBit Ransomware Gang's Attack on GP Global

The LockBit ransomware gang has attacked GP Global. GP Global, or the Gulf Petrochem Group, is an integrated energy services provider headquartered in Sharjah, UAE. LockBit posted GP Global to its data leak site on April 24th, threatening to publish all stolen data by April 27th if the organization did not cooperate. The ransomware gang never leaked GP Global’s stolen data, suggesting they paid the ransom.

LockBit's Operations and Evolution

LockBit has been active since 2019 and is enabled with security tool evasion capabilities and an extremely fast encryption speed. LockBit is noted for using a triple extortion model where the victim may also be asked to purchase their sensitive information in addition to paying the ransom demand for decrypting systems. The group continues to improve its attack platform and introduced LockBit in June of 2022, which bore some similarities to the BlackMatter ransomware. The latest version incorporates advanced anti-analysis features and is a threat to both Windows and Linux systems.

Technical Details and Affiliate Program

LockBit employs a Base64-encoded hash and an RSA public key in its configuration and hashes it with MD5. LockBit also created its own bug bounty program. LockBit is a well-run affiliate program and has an excellent reputation amongst the affiliate (attacker) community for the platform's maturity and for offering high payouts of as much as 75% of the attack proceeds.

Extortion Techniques

LockBit is known to employ multiple extortion techniques, including data exfiltration, to compel payment.