Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Infamous DarkSide ransomware reborn as new cyber threat: reports

Infamous DarkSide ransomware reborn as new cyber threat: reports

BlackMatter says it has the 'best features' of Colonial Pipeline hackers DarkSide, plus other kinds of ransomware

A new cyber gang is in town – and tapping into the best features of ransomware used in the Colonial Pipeline attack.

That new gang, BlackMatter, is upfront about its origins, stating that it has "incorporated" the "best features" of DarkSide and two other kinds of ransomware, REvil and Lockbit, according to a statement from the BlackMatter group as noted by cybersecurity company Recorded Future.

DarkSide was identified by the U.S. government as the ransomware responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack, which resulted in the shutdown of a major pipeline supplying fuel to the U.S. East Coast.

A man leaves a Murrphy Oil gas station as pumps are seen out of gas, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in Kennesaw, Ga. after Colonial Pipeline halted operations because of a cyberattack.


After the attack, DarkSide posted a statement saying it was ending operations.

Enter BlackMatter, which is now active on cybercrime forums.

"They’re not advertising their ransomware, however; they are recruiting affiliates…who have access to hacked enterprise networks," according to Malwarebytes. The BlackMatter ads state that it's seeking hacked access to corporate networks in Australia, Canada, the UK and the U.S.

Other requirements for corporations they target include revenue of at least $100 million and 500-15,000 hosts in the network, Recorded Future said.

Like other successful ransomware operations, BlackMatter is run as a business, dubbed Ransomware-as-a-service or RaaS, a knockoff of legitimate business models such as SaaS or software-as-a-service.

Cybersecurity news site Bleeping Computer reported attacks are happening already.

On their own site, BlackMatter says it won’t target certain industries including hospitals, critical infrastructure, the defense industry and the government sector, according to Malwarebytes.

That’s similar to past statements from DarkSide.

"Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society. From today we introduce moderation and check each company that our partners want to encrypt to avoid social consequences in the future," the DarkSide group said back in May.

But there may be more practical reasons for this. "Almost as if to say that they are keenly aware of the danger that comes from pulling off internationally-recognized attacks," Malwarebytes said.

In June, the Department of Justice said that it had seized Bitcoin valued at approximately $2.3 million from the DarkSide gang. Those funds represented a ransom payment for the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×