Leak site not responding

Hellokitty ransomware group

Hellokitty 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.

Leak site statusOfflinenot answering

Tracked since—no dated record

Last activity2y ago9 Dec 2024 22:07 UTC

Sectors observed—none stated

Who they are

HelloKitty is a ransomware family first observed in November 2020, named after a string found in its binary. It operates as a human-operated, big-game hunting ransomware, manually deployed after network intrusion and reconnaissance. HelloKitty uses a double-extortion model—encrypting files and threatening to leak stolen data on a Tor-based site. The malware encrypts files using AES-256 in CBC mode with RSA-2048 to protect keys, appending extensions such as .crypted or campaign-specific suffixes. Distribution typically occurs via compromised RDP credentials, phishing, or exploitation of known vulnerabilities. The group gained notoriety in February 2021 after attacking CD Projekt Red, the developer of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, stealing source code for several games. Subsequent variants have targeted both Windows and Linux systems, including ESXi servers.

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

Hellokitty'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 22:07 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

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 Hellokitty 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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