FBI and Australia ACSC agencies warn of ongoing Avaddon ransomware attacks

The FBI and Australian Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) warn of an ongoing Avaddon ransomware campaign targeting organizations worldwide.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) are warning of an ongoing Avaddon ransomware campaign targeting organizations worldwide in multiple industries, including government, finance, energy, manufacturing, and healthcare.

The alert published by the ACSC provides a list of countries under attack which includes the US, UK, Germany, France, China, Italy Brazil, India, UAE, France, and Spain.

“The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is aware an ongoing ransomware campaign utilising the Avaddon Ransomware malware. This campaign is actively targeting Australian organisations in a variety of sectors.” reads the alert published by ACSC. “The ACSC is aware of several instances where the Avaddon ransomware has directly impacted organisations within Australia.”

This advisory includes details about Techniques, Tools, and Procedures (TTPs) associated with the Avaddon ransomware group.

The group, like other ransomware gangs, uses a ‘double extortion’ model to force victims into paying the ransom.
The gang threatens to publish the victim’s data and also use DDoS attacks against the victim (triple extortion).

The average ransom payment demanded by Avaddon affiliates is roughly $40,000 worth of Bitcoins.

The ACSC also provided the following recommendations:

• Patch operating systems and applications, and keep antivirus signatures up to date.
• Scan emails and attachments to detect and block malware, and implement training and processes to identify phishing and externally-sourced emails.
• Maintain offline, encrypted backups of data and regularly test your backups. Regularly conduct backup procedures and keep backups offline or in separated networks.

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Pierluigi Paganini
International Editor-in-Chief
Cyber Defense Magazine