The United States on February 15 announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any of the leaders of the Russian-based criminal group known as BlackCat.
The group, which also uses the names ALPHV and Noberus, has targeted the computer networks of more than 1,000 victims and caused harm around the world, including to networks that support critical U.S. infrastructure, the State Department said.
The announcement said that in addition to the $10 million reward for information leading to the identification of the gang's leaders, the State Department was offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone participating in or attempting to participate in a ransomware attack using the ALPHV/Blackcat variant.
The Justice Department said in December that ALPHV/Blackcat had emerged as the second-most-prolific ransomware-as-a-service variant in the world, based on the hundreds of millions of dollars in ransoms paid by victims.
The FBI said it had infiltrated the Russian-based group and disrupted its operations through a decryption tool that it developed. The tool was distributed to victims of the ransomware and helped them restore affected computer systems, saving them from ransom demands totaling approximately $99 million, the FBI said in December.
The ransomware-as-a-service model involves developers who create and update ransomware and maintain the illicit Internet infrastructure used. Affiliates are responsible for identifying victims and attacking them with the ransomware. After a victim pays, developers and affiliates share the proceeds.
The affiliates who identify and hack into the targeted entities steal sensitive data, then seek a ransom in exchange for decrypting the data.
ALPHV/Blackcat actors attempt to target the most sensitive data in a victim's system to increase the pressure to pay, the Justice Department said. Victims who refuse to pay risk their data being published on the Internet.
The scale of the crimes has triggered parallel investigations by law enforcement agencies around the world, the State Department said.
The reward offer announced on February 15 complements the Justice Department and FBI's announcement of cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Britain, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark, to launch a disruption campaign against ALPHV/Blackcat.