{
	"id": "98ff8840-98e9-412d-bc4f-ffbf5d01cada",
	"created_at": "2026-04-06T00:14:51.545959Z",
	"updated_at": "2026-04-10T03:29:39.865727Z",
	"deleted_at": null,
	"sha1_hash": "2d28dedfdb715d984989fa391354e689187190ee",
	"title": "Researchers Connect BlackCat Ransomware with Past BlackMatter Malware Activity",
	"llm_title": "",
	"authors": "",
	"file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_size": 268556,
	"plain_text": "Researchers Connect BlackCat Ransomware with Past\r\nBlackMatter Malware Activity\r\nBy The Hacker News\r\nPublished: 2022-04-08 · Archived: 2026-04-05 19:58:54 UTC\r\nCybersecurity researchers have uncovered further links between BlackCat (aka ALPHV) and\r\nBlackMatter ransomware families, the former of which emerged as a replacement following international scrutiny\r\nlast year.\r\n\"At least some members of the new BlackCat group have links to the BlackMatter group, because they modified\r\nand reused a custom exfiltration tool [...] and which has only been observed in BlackMatter activity,\" Kaspersky\r\nresearchers said in a new analysis.\r\nThe tool, dubbed Fendr, has not only been upgraded to include more file types but also used by the gang\r\nextensively to steal data from corporate networks in December 2021 and January 2022 prior to encryption, in a\r\npopular tactic called double extortion.\r\nThe findings come less than a month after Cisco Talos researchers identified overlaps in the tactics, techniques,\r\nand procedures (TTPs) between BlackCat and BlackMatter, describing the new ransomware variant as a case of\r\nhttps://thehackernews.com/2022/04/researchers-connect-blackcat-ransomware.html\r\nPage 1 of 2\n\n\"vertical business expansion.\"\r\nBlackCat stands out for two reasons: it's an affiliate actor that has deployed BlackMatter in the past and its\r\nmalware is written in Rust, indicating how threat actors are increasingly pivoting to programming languages with\r\ncross-compilation capabilities.\r\nThe group \"provides infrastructure, malware samples, ransom negotiations, and probably cash-out,\" the\r\nresearchers noted. \"Anyone who already has access to compromised environments can use BlackCat's samples to\r\ninfect a target.\"\r\nOnce executed, the malware gets the Windows system's MachineGuid from the registry — a unique key generated\r\nduring the installation of the operating system — as well as its UUID, before proceeding to bypass User Account\r\nControl (UAC), delete shadow backups, and start the encryption process.\r\n\"This use of a modified Fendr, also known as ExMatter, represents a new data point connecting BlackCat with\r\npast BlackMatter activity,\" the researchers said.\r\n\"The modification of this reused tool demonstrates a more sophisticated planning and development regimen for\r\nadapting requirements to target environments, characteristic of a maturing criminal enterprise.\"\r\nFound this article interesting? Follow us on Google News, Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content\r\nwe post.\r\nSource: https://thehackernews.com/2022/04/researchers-connect-blackcat-ransomware.html\r\nhttps://thehackernews.com/2022/04/researchers-connect-blackcat-ransomware.html\r\nPage 2 of 2",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"Malpedia"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://thehackernews.com/2022/04/researchers-connect-blackcat-ransomware.html"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"researchers-connect-blackcat-ransomware.html"
	],
	"threat_actors": [
		{
			"id": "6e23ce43-e1ab-46e3-9f80-76fccf77682b",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T16:07:23.303713Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:04.530417Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "ALPHV",
			"aliases": [
				"ALPHV",
				"ALPHVM",
				"Ambitious Scorpius",
				"BlackCat Gang",
				"UNC4466"
			],
			"source_name": "ETDA:ALPHV",
			"tools": [
				"ALPHV",
				"ALPHVM",
				"BlackCat",
				"GO Simple Tunnel",
				"GOST",
				"Impacket",
				"LaZagne",
				"MEGAsync",
				"Mimikatz",
				"Munchkin",
				"Noberus",
				"PsExec",
				"Remcom",
				"RemoteCommandExecution",
				"WebBrowserPassView"
			],
			"source_id": "ETDA",
			"reports": null
		}
	],
	"ts_created_at": 1775434491,
	"ts_updated_at": 1775791779,
	"ts_creation_date": 0,
	"ts_modification_date": 0,
	"files": {
		"pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/2d28dedfdb715d984989fa391354e689187190ee.pdf",
		"text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/2d28dedfdb715d984989fa391354e689187190ee.txt",
		"img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/2d28dedfdb715d984989fa391354e689187190ee.jpg"
	}
}