• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack

 | 

FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms

 | 

Critical SAP flaw exploited to launch Auto-Color Malware attack on U.S. company

 | 

Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

 | 

Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

 | 

Pro-Ukraine hacktivists claim cyberattack on Russian Airline Aeroflot that caused the cancellation of +100 flights

 | 

Seychelles Commercial Bank Reported Cybersecurity Incident

 | 

Microsoft uncovers macOS flaw allowing bypass TCC protections and exposing sensitive data

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Cisco ISE and PaperCut NG/MF flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover

 | 

Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering

 | 

China-linked group Fire Ant exploits VMware and F5 flaws since early 2025

 | 

Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

 | 

Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

 | 

Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

 | 

Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

 | 

Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Cyber Crime
  • Malware
  • LockBit 2.0, the first ransomware that uses group policies to encrypt Windows domains

LockBit 2.0, the first ransomware that uses group policies to encrypt Windows domains

Pierluigi Paganini July 29, 2021

A new variant of the LockBit 2.0 ransomware is now able to encrypt Windows domains by using Active Directory group policies.

Researchers from MalwareHunterTeam and BleepingComputer, along with the malware expert Vitali Kremez reported spotted a new version of the LockBit 2.0 ransomware that encrypts Windows domains by using Active Directory group policies. Kramez explained that this is the first ransomware that automates this process.

A look at LockBit 2.0's payment site / support chat. Basically after the new login page, it looks mostly exactly as before, the biggest visible change is that they added this "Allow Notifications" part…@demonslay335 pic.twitter.com/Eqie3YsEnY

— MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) July 23, 2021

Like other ransomware operations, LockBit 2.0 implemented a ransomware-as-a-service model and maintains a network of affiliates.

The LockBit ransomware first appeared in the threat landscape in September 2019, the author of the malware improved it over the years implementing new features and providing supports to their affiliates.

After ransomware ads were banned on hacking forum, the LockBit operators set up their own leak site promoting the latest variant and advertising the LockBit 2.0 affiliate program. 

LockBit 2.0 ransomware says:
"Would you like to earn millions of dollars?
Our company acquire access to networks of various companies, as well as insider information that can help you steal the most valuable data of any company."
🤔@demonslay335 @VK_Intel pic.twitter.com/fYxFbVQ6gX

— MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) July 17, 2021

The leak site provides a list of features implemented in the new variant, one of the most interesting is the capability to use group policy update to encrypt a Windows domain.

This means that once the attackers have gained access to a target network and compromised the domain controller, the ransomware is able to propagate within the domain.

The ransomware will create new group policies on the domain controller that are pushed to all of the machines in the Windows domain.

The policies disable security measures, such as Microsoft Defender and alerts, and prevent the OS from submitting samples to Microsoft to avoid detection.

Below is the policy shared by BleepingComputer:

[General]
Version=%s
displayName=%s
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender;DisableAntiSpyware]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection;DisableRealtimeMonitoring]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Spynet;SubmitSamplesConsent]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Threats;Threats_ThreatSeverityDefaultAction]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Threats\ThreatSeverityDefaultAction]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Threats\ThreatSeverityDefaultAction]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Threats\ThreatSeverityDefaultAction]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Threats\ThreatSeverityDefaultAction]
[Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\UX Configuration;Notification_Suppress]

The ransomware achieves persistence by creating a scheduled task on Windows systems.

Another feature implemented by LockBit 2.0 is print bombing the ransom note, experts already observed this feature implemented by the Egregor Ransomware gang.

Below the list of feature published on the leak site:

LockBit 2.0
Source BleepingComputer

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, LockBit 2.0)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Cybersecurity cybersecurity news Hacking hacking news information security news LockBit 2.0 malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 30, 2025
PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 30, 2025
FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack

    Hacking / July 30, 2025

    FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms

    Cyber Crime / July 30, 2025

    Critical SAP flaw exploited to launch Auto-Color Malware attack on U.S. company

    Malware / July 30, 2025

    Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

    Security / July 29, 2025

    Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

    Data Breach / July 29, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT