Rhysida Ransomware Gang Attacks Enfield Grammar School

The Rhysida ransomware gang has attacked Enfield Grammar School. Enfield Grammar School is a secondary school located in Enfield, London, United Kingdom. It is a boys' grammar school with a long history dating back to its establishment in 1558. The school has a reputation for providing a high standard of education and has been recognized as an academy since 2010.

Rhysida posted Enfield Grammar School to its data leak site on June 29th, claiming to have stolen 18GB of data. The Rhysida ransomware group emerged in May 2023 and introduced a victim support chat portal on the TOR network. They present themselves as a "cybersecurity team" and claim to be helping their victims by targeting their systems and exposing potential security issues.

Ransomware Deployment and Features

Rhysida deploys its ransomware through various methods, including Cobalt Strike or similar frameworks, as well as phishing campaigns. Analysis of Rhysida ransomware samples suggests that the group is still in the early stages of development. The ransomware lacks certain common features seen in contemporary ransomware, such as VSS removal. However, the group follows the practices of modern multi-extortion groups by threatening to distribute the stolen data publicly.

Upon execution, Rhysida displays a cmd.exe window and scans all files on local drives. Victims are instructed to contact the attackers using the TOR-based portal and their unique identifier provided in the ransom notes. The group only accepts payment in Bitcoin (BTC) and provides victims with instructions on purchasing and using BTC through the victim portal. Victims are also given an additional form on the payment portal to provide authentication and contact details to the attackers.

The Rhysida ransom notes are written as PDF documents and placed in the affected folders on the targeted drives.