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US FARMER COOPERATIVE HIT BY $5.9M BLACKMATTER RANSOMWARE ATTACK

By

LAWRENCE ABRAMS

 * September 20, 2021
 * 02:07 PM
 * 1

Source: newcoop.com

U.S. farmers cooperative NEW Cooperative has suffered a BlackMatter ransomware
attack demanding $5.9 million not to leak stolen data and provide a decryptor.

NEW Cooperative is a farmer's feed and grain cooperative with over sixty
locations throughout Iowa.

In a weekend ransomware attack, the threat actors demand a 5.9 million dollar
ransom, which will increase to $11.8 million if a ransom is not paid in five
days. 

These ransom demands are a starting point for negotiations and usually lead to
significantly smaller payments if a victim decides to pay.

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NEW Cooperative has confirmed the attack to BleepingComputer and stated that
they had taken their systems offline to contain the attack's spread.

“NEW Cooperative recently identified a cybersecurity incident that is impacting
some of our company’s devices and systems. Out of an abundance of caution, we
have proactively taken our systems offline to contain the threat, and we can
confirm it has been successfully contained," a NEW Cooperative spokesperson told
BleepingComputer.

"We also quickly notified law enforcement and are working closely with data
security experts to investigate and remediate the situation."


BLACKMATTER TARGETS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Researchers first learned of the attack after a ransomware sample was uploaded
to a public malware analysis site early this morning.

This sample allowed access to the BlackMatter ransom note, the ransomware
negotiation page, and a non-public data leak page containing screenshots of
allegedly stolen data.

BlackMatter is believed to be a rebrand of the DarkSide ransomware that
disappeared after attacking the Colonial Pipeline.

When BlackMatter first appeared, they stated that they would not target
"Critical infrastructure facilities (nuclear power plants, power plants, water
treatment facilities)."

From screenshots of the negotiation page shared on Twitter, NEW Cooperative
asked BlackMatter why they were attacked as they are considered critical
infrastructure and the attack will lead to food supply disruption for grain,
pork, and chicken.

NEW Cooperative also said that they would have to contact regulators and CISA
about the attack.

BlackMatter responded that they do not "fall under the rules" and threatened to
double the ransom if NEW Cooperative didn't change their approach to the
negotiation.





"I am no threatening you. This is pretty much out of our hands. We can't control
what the regulators and US government does," a NEW Cooperative representative
told the threat actors in the negotiation chat.

"The impact of this attack will likely be much worse than the pipeline attack
for context, and we have no way to control that given the disruption this has
already caused."

"I am just telling you this so you are not surprised as it does not seem like
you understood who we are and what role our company plays in the food supply
chain."

BlackMatter responded with, "No one will give you decrypters for free, look for
money."

If you have first-hand information about this or other unreported cyberattacks,
you can confidentially contact us on Signal at +16469613731, Wire at
@lawrenceabrams-bc, or on Jabber at lawrence.abrams@anonym.im.


THREAT ACTORS CLAIM TO STEAL 1,000 GB OF DATA

On the non-public data leak page, the threat actors claim to have stolen the
source code for the soilmap.com project, R&D results, sensitive employee
information, financial documents, and an exported database for the KeePass
password manager.

Non-public data leak page for NEW Cooperative

The page includes screenshots of allegedly stolen data, including legal
documents, a screenshot of an application, and financial information.

BleepingComputer has decided not to disclose these images due to their
potentially sensitive nature.


RELATED ARTICLES:

US targets DarkSide ransomware and its rebrands with $10 million reward

The Week in Ransomware - November 5th 2021 - Placing bounties

BlackMatter ransomware claims to be shutting down due to police pressure

BlackMatter ransomware victims quietly helped using secret decryptor

The Week in Ransomware - October 22nd 2021 - Striking back


 * BlackMatter
 * Critical Infrastructure
 * DarkSide
 * Farmer
 * Ransom
 * Ransomware

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 * 



LAWRENCE ABRAMS

Lawrence Abrams is the owner and Editor in Chief of BleepingComputer.com.
Lawrence's area of expertise includes Windows, malware removal, and computer
forensics. Lawrence Abrams is a co-author of the Winternals Defragmentation,
Recovery, and Administration Field Guide and the technical editor for Rootkits
for Dummies.
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COMMENTS

 * VINSMOUSE - 2 MONTHS AGO
   
    *  
    *  
   
   These people really need to be found and punished. If that's not possible
   then we've got to develop a way to block this type of attack.

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