The FBI and CISA revealed in a joint advisory that the Royal ransomware gang has breached the networks of at least 350 organizations worldwide since September 2022, writes Bleeping Computer*.
In an update to the original advisory published in March with additional information discovered during FBI investigations, the two agencies also noted that the ransomware operation is linked to more than $275 million in ransom demands. “Since September 2022, Royal has targeted over 350 known victims worldwide and ransomware demands have exceeded 275 million USD,” the advisory reads.
Phishing emails are not only the most successful attack vector for Royal, but this also remains true against companies worldwide. Working alongside typical phishing emails, Royal also bolts on a technique where the criminals call up their victims to socially engineer them with clever manipulation tactics for extra control. But however much training and countermeasures are put in place, phishing continues to be the key to the majority of ransomware attacks and with devastating results.
As Royal Ransomware is believed to be working with the Conti group, it can also be assumed they are working at the same level of expertise and power, so there should be no limit to how much is out in place to mitigate these risks with the correct measures.
by Jake Moore, ESET
*ESET does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
ESET Ireland 