Conti ransomware has shut down to introduce their upcoming rebirth

May 24, 2022
Conti Ransomware Gang Threat Group Rebirth AvosLocker BlackCat Hive HelloKitty

The cybercrime landscape was surprised by the breaking news that the Conti ransomware group, one of the most notorious gangs, has decided to shut down operations. The group’s internal infrastructure has been taken offline, according to researchers.

Many of the threat group’s internal services, such as Tor admin panels and rocket chat servers, are also taken down.

 

Researchers noticed that the Conti ransomware deciding to shut down abruptly seemed suspicious; however, they presumed it to be a façade to tell people about them migrating to smaller units to operate.

 

This idea was backed by separate experts, explaining that the group shutting down could be a publicity act to introduce a rebirth after death. Recently, the notorious threat group made noise after striking Costa Rica, causing the country to announce a national emergency. The experts said that this massive attack against the country was part of the gang’s publicity plan.

While the departure of the Conti ransomware is good news for the cybersecurity sector, many still say that the gang will remain a significant player in the ransomware industry in the coming time. This presumption is due to the latest hearsays that the operators of the gang had teamed up with smaller ransomware groups to empower them in performing attacks.

Furthermore, the group partnering up with smaller ransomware units may result in more sophisticated attacks in the future since many experienced Conti pentesters will back them. Some of the well-known ransomware groups backed up by Conti include AvosLocker, BlackCat, Hive, and Hello Kitty.

Nevertheless, some threat analysts also stressed that this movement of the Conti group had long been expected. As they monitored the group in the past years, they have observed the notorious ransomware gang grow intensely while launching damaging attacks on many organisations, sectors, and critical infrastructure.

After the group announced siding with Russia against their war with Ukraine, the threat group’s luck began to decline. Several cybercrime groups that had sided with Ukraine had declared cyber war with Conti, including one that has leaked the gang’s internal chat conversations to the public, debilitating their notoriety.

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