Avast secretly gave DoNex ransomware decryptors to victims before crims vanished

Researchers at Avast have provided decryptors to DoNex ransomware victims on the down-low since March after discovering a flaw in the crims' cryptography, the company confirmed today. They also published the decryptor for all to use now that the group appears to no longer present a serious threat in the cybersecurity landscape …

[lglethal]

I can actually imagine that attacking Russia could be very profitable. Because the Ransomware Scum there dont dare attack locally, I can imagine the average Opsec for any non-governmental, non-military contractor firm would be absolutely minimal.

OK definitely avoid the government and military contractors, since no doubt they already are high targets for practically every nation state actor (including Russia's "friends" like China and the Norks), and likely have great opsec (and the backing to make sure it's done right!). But your average business in Russia is likely far below the standard level in the West due to the lack of threat actors operating against them. Whether they have the money to pay anything, as their economy collapses is another question entirely...

[beast666]

The Russian economy is the 4th largest in the world and is growing faster than any in the West.

[IGotOut]

@ beast666.

Citation required comrade.

For a Russian shill, you're not very subtle. Try nudge theory, you'll get better results.

[gratou]

Probably not 4th but doing very well thank you very much. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nn7pej9jyo

[anonymous boring coward]

But you are dying like flies.

[Anonymous Coward]

Plenty of money to be made blowing up children's cancer hospitals.

Arseholes. Led by the biggest arsehole of them all.

[tommy_qwerty]

>4th largest in the world

Maybe, depending on how you're counting

>growing faster than any in the West

Doubtful. Though I think much of the news in the west is full of lies and propaganda especially when dealing with China and Russia, I seriously doubt things are so rosy in Russia.

[IceC0ld]

err Russia's economy is less than that of Texas, which in turn is less than that of California

As of 2024, the top ten largest economies in the world are:

United States

China

Germany

Japan

India

United Kingdom

France

Brazil

Italy

Canada

[tommy_qwerty]

Only if you got very lucky and ransomwared an oligarch. With most of the population, you're probably just going to get enough for a hit of krokodil

[Rich 2]

Not annoying

“… but annoyingly didn't actually offer any insight into the flaw in its schema”

That is a very sensible thing to do. For all you or I know, the same flaw may be present in other ransomware. It would be foolish to advertise to the bad guys what the flaw is.

I find it silly that, all too often, details of successful police (and other) investigations with details of what the perps did wrong are advertised. I’m as interested in this stuff as the next person but I can see that keeping quiet about it is often the better move

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Bah!

Avast is just supporting the moral and technical weakness of lesser beings by providing them with ransomware decryptors. All right-thinking people know that anyone who is the victim of ransomware attack gets everything they deserve. Avast should have done the courageous, ethical, and moral thing by withholding the decryption keys or at least selling them at the highest possible price in order to teach the victims a lesson. Now the world is worse, and we all have Avast to blame.

[BartyFartsLast]

Re: Bah!

Seems sarcasm is an underappreciated form of humour, have an up vote.