PanamaTimes

Saturday, Oct 24, 2026

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

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Venezuela’s Earthquake Devastation Turns U.S. Investment Opportunity Into a Thirty-Seven Billion Dollar Reconstruction Challenge
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Trump Administration Pressures Banks to Restrict Financial Access for Undocumented Immigrants
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Colombia Influencer Dies After Cosmetic Procedure at Unlicensed Bogota Salon
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
On the Island That Did Not Yield to Trump, There Is No Electricity, and 10 Million Live in Darkness
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
×