Today, security company Mandiant issued a report tracking the growth of a ransomware attack group it calls FIN12.
The company said the group is one of the most aggressive ransomware attackers ever seen, making up a fifth of all the cases it has handled since September 2020. FIN12 is also shifting its techniques and targets as it evolves.
FIN12 hits big targets with average annual revenues of $6 billion, said Mandiant. Although it has focused largely on North American victims since emerging in 2018, it has expanded to hit organizations in Australia, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Ireland, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
The attackers differ from other groups in important ways. Unlike many of its peers, FIN12 relies on a large number of quick attacks and rarely bothers with double-dipping attacks that threaten to publish victims’ stolen data. This saves it time dwelling in a victim's network to exfiltrate data.
FIN12’s attacks take less than two days on average, compared to an industry median of five days. It also relies on third-party criminal groups to gain initial access to victims' systems and create a steady pipeline of targets.
RELATED RESOURCE
The best defence against ransomware
How ransomware is evolving and how to defend against it
FIN12 has a history of targeting hospitals, even during the pandemic when many other groups avoided hitting health care providers. Around one in five of its victims are in the healthcare industry, Mandiant said.
The attack group began by partnering with threat actors that used the TrickBot banking trojan and Empire PowerShell-based malware for post-breach exploitation, but recently sought new tools to expand its capabilities.
It began using the Bazarloader malware in September 2020, and Cobalt Strike Beacon is also a key part of its arsenal. Once it has established a footprint in its targets' networks, it almost always deploys the Ryuk ransomware tool to encrypt its victims' data.
Mandiant believes FIN12 is a Russian-speaking group likely residing in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It has not targeted organizations in that region, the report noted.
-
RSAC Conference 2025: The front line of cyber innovationITPro Podcast Ransomware, quantum computing, and an unsurprising focus on AI were highlights of this year's event
-
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei thinks we're burying our heads in the sand on AI job lossesNews With AI set to hit entry-level jobs especially, some industry execs say clear warning signs are being ignored
-
LockBit data dump reveals a treasure trove of intel on the notorious hacker groupNews An analysis of May's SQL database dump shows how much LockBit was really making
-
‘I take pleasure in thinking I can rid society of at least some of them’: A cyber vigilante is dumping information on notorious ransomware criminals – and security experts say police will be keeping close tabsNews An anonymous whistleblower has released large amounts of data allegedly linked to the ransomware gangs
-
It's been a bad week for ransomware operatorsNews A host of ransomware strains have been neutralized, servers seized, and key players indicted
-
Everything we know about the Peter Green Chilled cyber attackNews A ransomware attack on the chilled food distributor highlights the supply chain risks within the retail sector
-
Scattered Spider: Who are the alleged hackers behind the M&S cyber attack?News The Scattered Spider group has been highly active in recent years
-
Ransomware attacks are rising — but quiet payouts could mean there's more than actually reported
News Ransomware attacks continue to climb, but they may be even higher than official figures show as companies choose to quietly pay to make such incidents go away.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolen – and security experts say it won't be the lastNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
‘Phishing kits are a force multiplier': Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25 – and experts warn it’s lowering the barrier of entry for amateur hackersNews Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
