Pierluigi Paganini June 03, 2017

Security researchers linked Jaff ransomware campaigns to the backend infrastructure used by operators behind a black market.

Security researchers at Heimdal Security who are investigating a new strain of Jaff ransomware discovered that the malware is sharing the backend infrastructure with a black market offering for sale stolen card data and account information.

The black market is offering access to “tens of thousands of compromised bank accounts, complete with details about their balance, location, and attached email address.”

The black market offers compromised records for bank accounts most located in the United States, Germany, France, and Spain. Prices for the compromised accounts range from under $1 to several bitcoins, depending on the specific item.

“While analyzing a recent variant of Jaff, researchers have uncovered that this ransomware type shares server space with a refined cyber crime web store.” reads the analysis published by Heimdal Security.

The Jaff ransomware has been recently discovered, it was involved in a number of large-scale email campaigns each using a PDF attachment with an embedded Microsoft Word document embedding macros that download and execute the malicious code.

The discovery made by the experts at Heimdal Security confirms that hackers diversify their operations in order to maximize profits.

“As we know, a ransomware attack never stops at just encrypting data. It also harvests as much information as possible about the victim. By combining these informational assets, cyber criminals are engaging in both the long game, required to monetize stolen card data, and in quick wins, such as targeted ransomware attacks, whose simpler business model yields a fast return on investment,” continues the analysis.

The crooks used a server (IP address 5[.]101[.]66 [.] 85 ) located in St. Petersburg (Russia), the server is also involved in the campaign delivering the Jaff ransomware targeting users worldwide.

The cyber crime marketplace uses the following domains:

http://paysell[.]info
http://paysell[.]net
http://paysell[.]me
http://paysell[.]bz
http://paysell[.]org
http://paysell[.]ws

And TOR hidden service:

paysellzh4l5lso7[.]onion

Unfortunately, the case is not isolated, many criminal organizations used to diversify their activities to improve their operations.

“It can happen that we will see these two models combined, with data breaches becoming accompanied by subsequent ransomware attacks, which would make it a nightmare for companies to deal with,” concludes the analysis.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Jaff Ransomware, black marketplace)

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