U.S. law enforcement agencies have seized the servers, domain names, and approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency assets related to the BlackSuit gang.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday that multiple U.S. and international law enforcement agencies took action against the BlackSuit ransomware gang at the end of July. Additionally, the seizure included the execution of a warrant involving cryptocurrency valued at just over $1 million.
"Disrupting ransomware infrastructure is not just about seizing servers; it's about dismantling the entire ecosystem that supports the operations of cybercriminals," said Michael Prado, Deputy Director of the Cyber Crimes Center at the Department of Homeland Security.
BlackSuit is a branch of the Royal ransomware gang and has been active since at least 2023. This seizure coincides with other actions taken by the U.S. against ransomware groups, such as the sanctions against the ransomware hosting service Aeza Group in July.
The DOJ stated that the operation was led by the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations. The Secret Service, IRS, FBI, as well as law enforcement agencies from the UK, Germany, Ireland, France, Canada, Ukraine, and Lithuania also assisted.
The DOJ noted that this ransomware gang has continuously targeted multiple sectors of critical infrastructure, including healthcare, government facilities, manufacturing, and commercial facilities. Victims typically pay ransoms in Bitcoin (BTC) through dark web sites.
The DOJ added that BlackSuit has caused over 450 known victim incidents in the U.S. since 2022, with total ransom payments exceeding $370 million.
The DOJ pointed out that the ransomware gang employs a double extortion strategy: encrypting victims' systems while threatening to leak stolen data to further coerce victims into paying ransoms.
"The ongoing attacks by the BlackSuit ransomware gang on U.S. critical infrastructure pose a serious threat to public safety," said John Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
In 2023, a victim paid 49.3 Bitcoins, worth approximately $1.4 million at the time, to decrypt their data.
Reports indicate that the seized $1 million ransom had circulated multiple times within an account at a cryptocurrency exchange until the funds were frozen by the exchange in early 2024, although the name of the exchange was not disclosed.
According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, ransom amounts typically range from $1 million to $10 million. The BlackSuit gang has demanded as much as $60 million in ransom.
In July, the FBI's Dallas office announced the seizure of 20 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $2.4 million, from a cryptocurrency wallet address controlled by core members of the Chaos ransomware gang.
Last week, analysts from TRM Labs examined a new ransomware gang called Embargo and discussed its potential to succeed BlackCat. Additionally, this gang is laundering money through cryptocurrency accounts. Analysis shows that approximately $18.8 million currently remains in unallocated wallets.
According to Magazine, Scottie Pippen stated that Michael Saylor had warned him about discussions related to Satoshi Nakamoto.
Related: Grayscale has launched two trust products related to the Sui ecosystem.
Original article: “U.S. Law Enforcement Dismantles Multiple Websites, Seizes $1 Million Related to Crypto Ransomware Gang BlackSuit”
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