Report: Ransomware Groups Manipulate Stolen Data to Increase Pressure on Targets

 Emma Okonji

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, has released a new dark web report, tagged, ‘Turning the Screws: The Pressure Tactics of Ransomware Gangs’, which details how cybercriminals are weaponising stolen data to increase pressure on targets who refuse to pay ransom.

This, according to the report, includes sharing the contact details or doxing the family members of targeted CEOs and business owners, as well as threatening to report any information about illegal business activities uncovered in stolen data to the authorities. 

In the report, Sophos X-Ops shares posts found on the dark web that show how ransomware gangs refer to their targets as ‘irresponsible and negligent’, and in some cases, encourage individual victims whose personal information was stolen to pursue litigation against their employer.

Analysing the report, Director, Threat Research at Sophos, Christopher Budd, said: “In December 2023, in the wake of the MGM casino breach, Sophos began taking note of ransomware gangs’ propensity to turn the media into a tool they can use to not only increase pressure on their victims but take control of the narrative and shift the blame. We are also seeing gangs singling out the business leaders they deem ‘responsible’ for the ransomware attack at the companies they target. In one post we found, the attackers published a photo of a business owner with devil horns, along with their social security number.”