In a recent update from an underground online forum, a user is actively promoting the sale of Zeppelin2 ransomware, providing both its source code and a cracked version of its builder tool. This malicious software, known for its destructive capabilities, has garnered the attention of cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies globally.
The forum post asserts that the user successfully breached the security measures of the Zeppelin2 builder tool, originally designed for data encryption. The post includes screenshots of the source code, shedding light on the intricate details of the build process and revealing that the ransomware is programmed in Delphi.
The Zeppelin2 ransomware builder tool, being promoted by the threat actor, showcases various features, such as file settings, ransom notes, IP logging, startup commands, task killers, and auto-unlocking busy files. The threat actor underscores the ransomware's capability to comprehensively encrypt files, rendering data recovery impossible without a unique private key held by the attackers.
Upon completing the encryption process, victims are presented with a ransom note declaring the encryption of all their files. The note instructs victims to contact the attackers via email and offers a method for testing the legitimacy of the decryptor by sending a non-valuable file.
Reports indicate that Zeppelin2 ransomware demands ransom payments in Bitcoin, with extortion amounts ranging from several thousand dollars to over a million dollars. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have jointly issued a cybersecurity advisory to address the Zeppelin2 threat.
Zeppelin2, employed by threat actors since 2019 and continuing at least until June 2022, targets various sectors through its ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model. These sectors include defense contractors, educational institutions, manufacturers, technology companies, and notably, organizations in the healthcare and medical industries.
The ransomware's modus operandi involves exploiting vulnerabilities such as remote desktop protocol (RDP) exploitation, SonicWall firewall vulnerabilities, and phishing campaigns to gain access to victim networks. Before deploying the Zeppelin2 ransomware, threat actors meticulously map and enumerate the victim's network, identifying critical data enclaves, including cloud storage and network backups.
Consistent with ransomware groups, Zeppelin2 operators exfiltrate sensitive corporate data with the intention of making it accessible to buyers or the public if the victim resists complying with their demands.
Of significance, the FBI has observed instances where Zeppelin2 actors execute their malware multiple times within a victim's network, generating different IDs or file extensions for each attack instance, necessitating multiple unique decryption keys.