Leak site not responding

Ghost ransomware group

Ghost is one of the extortion operations we watch continuously. This page covers what is known about the group and the current state of its leak site.

Leak site statusOfflinenot answering

Tracked since—no dated record

Last activity—nothing recorded

Sectors observed—none stated

Who they are

aka Cring / Ghost (Cring)

Beginning early 2021, Ghost actors began attacking victims whose internet facing services ran outdated versions of software and firmware. This indiscriminate targeting of networks containing vulnerabilities has led to the compromise of organizations across more than 70 countries, including organizations in China. Ghost actors, located in China, conduct these widespread attacks for financial gain. Affected victims include critical infrastructure, schools and universities, healthcare, government networks, religious institutions, technology and manufacturing companies, and numerous small- and medium-sized businesses.

Ghost actors rotate their ransomware executable payloads, switch file extensions for encrypted files, modify ransom note text, and use numerous ransom email addresses, which has led to variable attribution of this group over time. Names associated with this group include Ghost, Cring, Crypt3r, Phantom, Strike, Hello, Wickrme, HsHarada, and Rapture. Samples of ransomware files Ghost used during attacks are: Cring.exe, Ghost.exe, ElysiumO.exe, and Locker.exe.

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa25-050a

Descriptions are compiled from public reporting and vendor research. They describe how a group has historically operated and can lag its current behaviour; the status and timings above are our own.

Current status

Ghost's leak site is not answering. Sites go dark for infrastructure trouble, a deliberate quiet period, or a takedown, and a good number return weeks later under the same name, so the entry stays on the list either way.

Which organisations this group has named, and when, is part of the SINON platform rather than this page. Create an account to search it, or to be told automatically if a name you care about turns up.

Sectors targeted

Industries this group has been observed going after, most common first.

This group does not state an industry on its site, so we have nothing reliable to report. Most crews are opportunistic rather than sector-specific in any case — they hit what they can reach.

Watching for your name

If Ghost posts your company, a supplier or a subsidiary, you want to hear it from us rather than from a journalist. SINON checks these sites continuously and alerts on the names you give it.

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