8Base Infiltrates 5 Across 4 Countries
The 8Base gang announced 5 victims in an unprecedented attack spanning across 4 countries. These are the US, Germany, Italy, and France. According to the gang’s OP, the targets are medium-to-high value, so they’re likely to pack serious revenue numbers.
- 8Base actors are known to prioritize private corporations with healthy revenue scores that increase the likelihood of a meaty profit
- Neither of those attacked have commented on the event so far
- Out of the 5 companies, Speedy France appears to be the largest, with 500 centers and more than 1,400 employees specializing in car maintenance and repair
- 8Base isn’t known to attack multiple targets at once, especially several high-value ones at once
As data shows, ransomware attacks have reached a new peak in 2023 and the trend seems to be on an upward trend for the current year. According to the latest numbers:
- Ransomware attacks have produced 55% more victims in 2023 compared to the previous year
- Q2 and Q3 of 2023 claimed more victims than the entire 2022, with little over 2900 successful breaches
- Ransom payments surpassed $1 billion in 2023
- Ransomware groups have started to target high-value targets more, leading to higher ransoms and increased notoriety for the hackers
It’s also important to note that 2023 marked an important year for new-coming ransomware actors. We have a lot of new cybercriminal gangs making a name for themselves in a very short time span. 8Base is one of them.
But what makes 8Base so feared and intimidating? The group started publicly in early 2023, operating based on simple extortion tactics. The hackers would steal the data and summon the victim for negotiations to prevent the data from leaking publicly.
In May of the same year, 8Base decided to move to the double-extortion practice, which also encrypts the victim’s system. This created even more leverage that the hackers could use during negotiations to increase the value of the ransom.
It didn’t take long for 8Base to start targeting high-value institutions. The hackers always follow the money trail and they’re only interested in the target’s revenue.
How to Deal with an 8Base Attack?
The most natural and straightforward advice is: don’t negotiate and don’t pay the ransom. But this is easier said than done. Some companies have no choice but to negotiate, especially when their reputation is on the line.
Or when, by the nature of their services, they cannot afford to have their systems offline for too long. So, they decide to take the financial loss and regain control over their systems, than to play the stubborn game and lose more in the long run.
Even so, cybersecurity experts advise against it. First, because paying the ransom doesn’t guarantee that the hackers won’t leak the data publicly. Or that they won’t share it with other cybercriminal groups. Which they do more often than not.
Second, because negotiating and agreeing to pay automatically marks the victim as vulnerable. This will inevitably lead to more breaches and more losses down the line.
Naturally, the ultimate decision belongs to the victim. But it’s a good perspective to ponder on anyway.
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