Grief ransomware group
Grief 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, which we last saw change 2y ago.
Who they are
Grief, also known as Pay or Grief, is a ransomware group that emerged in May 2021 and is widely believed to be operated by actors linked to the Evil Corp cybercrime syndicate. It operates as a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform, using a double-extortion strategy: encrypting files while threatening to leak stolen data via its Tor-based leak site. Grief’s ransomware payload uses strong encryption (commonly RSA-2048 + AES-256) and typically appends the .grief extension to files. The group has targeted organizations across multiple sectors, including government, finance, education, and manufacturing, with a focus on U.S. and European entities. Grief has been associated with infrastructure and code overlaps from the earlier DoppelPaymer ransomware and uses phishing emails, malicious attachments, and compromised RDP credentials for intrusion. In late 2021, the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC issued sanctions against Grief due to its ties with Evil Corp, making ransom payments to the group legally risky for victims in the U.S.
Current status
Grief'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.
The last change we recorded on it was 2y ago (9 Dec 2024 22:02 UTC).
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
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 Grief 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.
Start monitoring