An infection with Rhysida is characterised by your systems displaying a notice like the one shown here, with the perpetrator, a group of specialist threat actors, holding your infected systems and stolen data hostage until you pay a ransom.
If you discover a physical break-in at your offices, your first instinct would be to call the police; touch nothing and let them search for clues.
A cyber-attack requires the same approach. Your digital environment is a CRIME SCENE. It is crucial to leave the environment untouched to allow for a forensic investigation.
This is not a task for your IT team or MSP. Digital Forensic specialists are available 24/7 to assist you, just like in a physical crime.
If you discover a message on your system, similar to the one above - you have likely suffered an attack from Rhysida.
The Rhysida ransomware group first emerged in May of 2023, with Rhysida threat actors operating in a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) capacity. Believed to have originated in Russia, the group targets large organisations, with victims having been identified in the education, healthcare, manufacturing, IT, and government sectors. As for geographical targets, there have been reports of attacks in the US, the UK and Chile.
Rhysida's primary infiltration methods involve using a Cobalt Strike or similar framework, as well as phishing campaigns. The group has also been seen exploiting external-facing remote services to gain initial access. For example, they target remote services like virtual private networks (VPNs), utilising compromised valid credentials, often because organisations lack default multi-factor authentication (MFA). Once inside, Rhysida exfiltrates data and encrypts payloads using the ChaCha20 script.
Rhysida employ Double Extortion, a nefarious tactic used by cyber criminals, to amplify the impact and urgency of their demands. In a double extortion scheme, the perpetrators not only encrypt the data but also threaten to release or sell it if their ransom demands are not met.
This dual-threat strategy significantly increases the pressure on the victim organisation to comply with the ransom demands.
Rhysida was initially observed in May 2023, but it was later found to have been active since January. The group's activity peaked in November 2023 and has since declined.
To date, Rhysida has compromised 215 organisations.
Solace Cyber’s track record includes hundreds of successful response recoveries, providing Digital Forensic Incident Response services, 24x7x365.
“In the UK, organisations took an average of 181 days to identify the fact that a breach had occurred and a further 75 days to contain the incident.”
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When a cyber incident occurs, take these immediate actions:
Solace Cyber acts as your specialist digital forensics partner in Australia, helping restore normal operations swiftly. Our response includes:
Recovery timelines typically range from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the incident's scope.
Solace Cyber delivers global risk and security services across Australia, specialising in travel, crisis support, and offshore risk management. The organisation runs a fully staffed security operations centre around the clock and maintains an internal intelligence unit that produces routine daily and weekly updates. The business is certified to ISO 27001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 9001 standards.
Founded in the UK in 2021, Solace Cyber has grown its presence throughout Australia, concentrating on cyber incident handling, including digital forensics, incident response, ransomware events, information security, and wider risk management, supported by managed security services. The senior leadership team has more than two decades of combined experience across security and IT.
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A forensic analysis needs to be meticulous and a clean restore and recovery requires a wealth of experience not normally available in an in-house team who must provide a broader range of IT support skills:
Solace Cyber was established precisely for this scenario. We have a well-defined process for handling cyber-attacks like Rhysida, which involves a 6-step approach:
It includes a thorough digital forensic analysis from step 2 where the output becomes a central component of business recovery. This is because understanding the attack is of critical importance:
It is critical that the analysis of digital evidence is carried out to an agreed plan. This will have been designed to provide the best and earliest chance of discovering a root cause, which is essential to inform remediation/eradication and recovery as well as supporting a legal take-down case if this is applicable. A legal take-down means we can assist in the legal enforcement that stops the criminals from publishing the data, thus undermining the ransom notice.
Solace’s Digital Forensic and Incident Response teams maintain consistent communication throughout. Dedicated Incident Managers and technical engineering leads provide updates during the Cyber Incident Response journey, utilising risk registers and working within change management processes, all from triage through to post-incident, delivering successful business recovery.
Solace Cyber's assistance extends beyond the recovery phase. Following the restoration of your business operations, we collaborate with you to enhance your cyber security posture using a threat-informed methodology. This involves leveraging our Cyber 9 Step Process, designed to comprehensively address cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
The Rhysida ransomware entered your system by one of several ways:
We recommend you adopt policies to:
After recovering from Rhysida, Solace Cyber recommends that you update your business continuity plan to account for lessons learnt during this attack & recovery.
Most ransomware breaches cost approximately £500K, while smaller email data breaches typically cost around £50K. There is a critical balance between preserving the environment for forensic analysis and quickly recovering it to minimise business interruption. The costs increase the longer it takes to identify and resolve the breach.
A cyber security insurance claim is complex, covering reasonable expenses for investigating and remediating an incident, along with legal fees, business interruption, criminal liability, employment liability, and ransom payments. Although the insurance industry is responsible for facilitating business recovery, cyber insurance is viewed as volatile, and many policies are not being validated correctly.
Finding your way through demands expertise, and that's where Solace Cyber can offer assistance.
Criminal organisations like Rhysida are paid by affiliates to launch cyber-attacks using their specific brand of malware that is known for its swift and efficient encryption capabilities. Even if the ransom is paid, the likelihood of having files decrypted and data restored is minimal, underscoring the necessity of employing a ransomware incident response team.
The NCSC have documented the deliberations for paying ransomware: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/ransomware/home
Important Reminder: It is a criminal offense to pay money to people who are subject to financial sanctions. The list of who is subject to financial sanctions is constantly changing.
The latest iteration can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-consolidated-list-of-targets
Yes. There's a possibility that some of the lost data falls under the category of "Personal Data" belonging to your customers. It's your legal responsibility to safeguard this data, even if it has been lost. Additionally, you may need to notify the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk/.
Your insurer or legal counsel will provide guidance on the necessary steps and how to move forward in this situation.
Solace has experience collaborating with insurers and legal professionals and can offer support in managing this relationship during this challenging period.
A ransomware attack presents the most significant threat to your business by:
In the event of a business interruption, determining your position in the supply chain for any item and sustaining operations become challenges. If the disruption persists, maintaining business continuity becomes paramount. Moreover, upon restoration of systems and data, addressing any backlog of work and establishing operational protocols for the future becomes essential.
Ransomware ranks only behind receivership in terms of its capacity to incapacitate a business.
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Whether you have been scammed, defrauded, or experienced cybercrime in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, Action Fraud offers a central point of contact for information on fraud and financially motivated cybercrime.
In the event of a Rhysida ransom attack on your systems, STAY CALM.
DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM, ATTEMPT TO RESTORE, OR OVERWRITE ANY DATA (explanation above).
Reach out to Solace Cyber at +61 (0) 282 786100 or complete our form for a callback from one of our specialists.
We'll respond promptly to minimise your business's downtime.
Solace Cyber helps companies across Australia recover from ransomware attacks and data breaches.
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