Notorious REvil hackers' payment portal and data leak blog hacked
Rampant hacker group REvil—known for using ransomware to extort companies for millions and selling data on the dark web when it doesn't get its way—has gone silent after finally receiving some penance, it would seem.
According to reports (via Tech Crunch), the group's Tor payment portal and data leak blog have been hijacked, leaving the group crippled and platformless.
A recent post from one threat actor associated with REvil, 0_neday, notes the attack not only took down 'Happy Blog,' it also deleted the path to the Tor service config files, replacing it with a malicious one to catch out the miscreants.
RIP ???? #REvil pic.twitter.com/LJKnJI9YtWOctober 17, 2021
REvil had been gaining heat from the US government over it's misconduct for some time before the blackout. Not long ago, the group targeted Acer, attempting to extort the company for approximately $100 million, and the group's backlog of victims doesn't stop there.
Apple supplier Quanta Computer, and thousands of organisations using Kaseya IT management solutions have also been affected by REvil's wrongdoings.
It isn't clear who carried out the attack on the group—whether it was a revenge hack or a preventative takedown from the government itself. At this point we can only speculate, but a report from The Washington Post reveals the government had managed to obtain a key that could've shut the group down back in September. However, they decided to hold off for whatever reason, only to notice the Happy Blog went offline of its own volition.
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That only lasted a while before the group resurfaced, though. So perhaps the government did decide to execute a takedown after all. Bleeping Computer says other whispers suggest a mutiny is underway, with a former group member who didn't join the resurfacing potentially staging a takeover.
Either way, it's a win for the tech industry and the cyber-conscious. Lets hope that's the last we see of them. And as always, let this be a warning to keep your cybersecurity knowledge up to scratch. Hackers are all around us, and they don't often let up easy.