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Two admins involved in the Qilin ransomware-as-a-service operation have been targeted by international law enforcement agencies.
The European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol, has posted a US$50,000 reward for anyone who can provide information regarding two senior members of the Qilin ransomware group.
“During the course of ongoing international investigations, we have confirmed that the cyber criminal group Qilin has carried out ransomware attacks worldwide, severely disrupting critical infrastructure and causing significant financial losses,” Europol said in a post to one of its Telegram channels.
“We have identified two primary administrators operating under the aliases Haise and XORacle, who coordinate affiliates and oversee extortion activities.
“We are actively pursuing all available leads in cooperation with international partners. A reward of up to US$50,000 is offered for information that directly leads to the identification or location of these administrators.”
The Qilin operation is most likely based in eastern Europe – its members have been observed conversing in Russian on several hacking forums. It was first observed in August 2022 and has since then claimed 678 victims, making it one of the most active ransomware groups in the world as of the time of publishing.
Qilin’s most recent victim was the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited, the African country’s sole importer and exporter of electricity. Its most recent Australian victim was Belmont Christian College, which was listed by the hackers on 7 August. The claimed seven Australian victims in total, and one in New Zealand.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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