US takes down sites, seizes $1M from crypto ransomware gang BlackSuit

Key Points

1. The US Justice Department, along with international law enforcement agencies, seized servers, domain names, and around $1 million in cryptocurrency from the BlackSuit ransomware group.

2. BlackSuit has compromised over 450 victims in the US since 2022, receiving more than $370 million in ransom payments using double-extortion tactics.

3. Ransom demands from BlackSuit typically range from $1 million to $10 million in BTC, with the largest demand being $60 million.

4. The takedown was led by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from agencies like the FBI, Secret Service, and IRS, as well as international partners.

5. A new ransomware group called Embargo may have emerged as a successor to BlackCat, with $18.8 million worth of crypto remaining dormant in unattributed wallets.