FBI Dismantles Ransomware Syndicate Responsible for Hacking Numerous Corporations

The FBI announced on Monday that it has successfully taken control of the servers belonging to a notorious ransomware and extortion outfit known as Radar (also referred to as Dispossessor). Presently, a declaration from law enforcement is displayed on Radar’s website, declaring: “This website has been seized.” This marks a significant victory for the FBI, which has been working in concert with international law enforcement to combat the escalating ransomware menace.

According to a dispatch from the bureau’s Cleveland, Ohio field office, authorities managed to capture the domains and servers used by the gang, which were based in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since its inception in August 2023, Radar/Dispossessor has claimed at least 43 companies as victims, the FBI reports.

The Bureau described how the Radar/Dispossessor syndicate, under the leadership of an individual known as “Brain”, would identify and leverage security vulnerabilities within a target company’s infrastructure, illicitly acquire substantial data volumes, and then encrypt the data. The perpetrators would demand a ransom in return for decryption, and threaten to leak the stolen data should the demand not be met, employing a notorious strategy known as “double extortion.”