Security: The U.S Government Places Bounties on DarkSide Members Around the World

The government places rewards for information on the whereabouts of top members of the DarkSide gang.

Nov. 15, 2021, 9:38 p.m.

TL;DR

The U.S department of state has announced a reward for anyone who provides information that would hasten a conviction on members of the cybergang DarkSide.

The announcement of this reward is the first time the state department is placing a target on a specific team.

Key Facts

1
The U.S Government shows support to victims of cyberattacks by placing 10 million dollars and 5 million dollars rewards on the leaders and members of the DarkSide gang, respectively.
2
Ransomware gangs can cause lasting damage to their victims with their activities.
3
The cybersecurity community is in support of the government announcement.
4
The reward amount is large enough to cause information leaks from the affiliates of the ransomware gang.

Details

The United States Department of State has offered a reward of 10 million dollars to anyone who provides vital information about top members of the DarkSide ransomware gang. The department also announced that the government would give a 5 million dollars reward to any individual in any country that provides enough information to arrest any individual participating or demonstrating intent to join in cyberattacks using the DarkSide ransomware.

The state department stated that this move by the government was an effort to show solidarity with victims of the gangs in different parts of the world. The department pledged its commitment to protecting victims of cyberattacks with an emphasis on ransomware victims worldwide. They further implored other governments to take actions that would show support to the victims by clamping down on members of the gang residing in their country.

We observed reactions from the members of the cybersecurity community in conversations they had with the team at SiliconAngle. Neil Jones from Egnyte Inc, a cloud backup company, stated that the government’s announcement considered stats that showed that the ransomware industry could cause crippling damage to world-class sectors and supply chains. They noted that the activities of ransomware gangs could ultimately bring production flow in organizations to a halt.

Jake Williams, the Co-founder of BreachQuest Inc, noted that the reward move by the government was a long-awaited one. He pointed out that the gang’s mode of operation required reliance on intermediaries. A situation where these criminals turned against one another is now possible due to the government's large amount.

Other community members had reactions comparing the reward to bounties placed on terrorist leaders in previous years and approved of the weight of the government's amount, hinting that it conveyed the severity of the gang’s actions. One of the recent attacks was the May incident at the Colonial Pipeline company; shortly after, the team announced its plan to retire.

The announcement of this reward is the first time the state department is placing a target on a specific team. They had previously announced a similar bounty in June that targeted cybercriminals widely and aimed at reducing their activities within the state.