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Helldown Ransomware

Tracked

Threat actor group tracked in the global ransomware database ยท Last disclosure: Nov 6, 2024

Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) Double Extortion Target: Business Services
36
Total Victims
0.2% of all tracked
17
Countries Targeted
9
Sectors Targeted
2024
First Seen

ThreatAI Analysis

Compiled from the ransomware.live profile for Helldown and from this database. Figures and technique mappings are quoted from the source data, not inferred.

Helldown is an aggressive ransomware group responsible for targeting 36 victims across 17 countries with its attacks, primarily focusing on IT services, telecommunications, manufacturing, and healthcare organizations.

Who Helldown is

Helldown is an aggressive ransomware group first documented in August 2024, known for exploiting Zyxel firewall vulnerabilities to gain initial access and conducting large-scale data exfiltration averaging 70 GB per victim, targeting IT services, telecommunications, manufacturing, and healthcare primarily in the US.

Recorded activity

Disclosures attributed to Helldown in this database run from August 2024 to November 2024, totalling 36 victims โ€” 0.2% of everything tracked here. Helldown has listed victims in 17 countries in this database, most often United States, followed by Germany and Italy. The sectors appearing most in its listings are Business Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing.

Tooling observed in Helldown operations

  • Mimikatz
  • HRSword
  • Advanced Port Scanner
  • PsExec
  • TeamViewer

Software reported in use by Helldown. Most are legitimate administration or transfer utilities; their presence in an environment is a signal to investigate, not proof of compromise.

Indicators of compromise

Showing a sample of 1 EMAIL on file. Hashes and network indicators published for Helldown. Leak-site addresses are deliberately excluded. Indicators age quickly โ€” treat a match as a starting point for investigation, and an absence of matches as no assurance.

YARA detection rules

helldown.yar
/*
Helldown ransomware
*/

rule Helldown_Ransomnote
{
    meta:
        author = "ransomware.live"
        family = "ransomware.helldown"
        description = "Detects Helldown ransomware ransom note"
        date = "2026-05-04"
        severity = 7
        score = 70

    strings:
        $s1 = "Helldown" ascii nocase
        $s2 = "HELLDOWN" ascii
        $s3 = "helldown.onion" ascii nocase
        $s4 = ".helldown" ascii

    condition:
        any of them
}

Community-contributed rules for Helldown, reproduced as published. Test them against your own corpus before relying on them: rule quality and false-positive behaviour vary by author.

Threat Actor Analysis

Helldown is a ransomware threat group that has disclosed 36 victims in publicly accessible leak site data, representing 0.2% of all ransomware attacks tracked in this database. The earliest victim disclosure attributed to Helldown in our dataset dates to August 2024.

Geographically, Helldown has targeted organisations in 17 countries. The most frequently targeted nation is United States with 9 victim organisations. Other heavily targeted nations include Germany, Italy, France.

Industry-wise, Helldown shows a concentration in the Business Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing sectors. These industries are frequently targeted because they manage sensitive data, critical operations, or have lower tolerance for operational downtime โ€” conditions that increase ransom payment likelihood.

Like most modern ransomware operations, Helldown likely employs a double extortion model: encrypting victim files while simultaneously exfiltrating data, creating dual pressure to pay the ransom. Victim organisations that refuse payment face having their data published on the group's dark web leak site.

Note: This profile is generated from public leak site disclosures aggregated via the ransomware.live API. Data is updated automatically. The table below lists the 36 most recent of the 36 disclosures we hold for this group; use the link beneath it to page through all of them.

Recent Victim Disclosures (showing 36 of 36)

# Organization Country Sector Date
1 AMERICANVENTURE americanventures.com ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Business Services Nov 6, 2024
2 children generaldentistryforchildren.com ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India Consumer Services Nov 6, 2024
3 compassfs compassfs.net ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Financial Services Nov 6, 2024
4 CSIKBS csikitchenandbath.com ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan Consumer Services Nov 6, 2024
5 fuelco fuelco-us.com โ€” Energy Nov 6, 2024
6 hausdesstiftens.org hausdesstiftens.org ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany Healthcare Nov 6, 2024
7 klinkamkurpark klinik-am-kurpark.de ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany Healthcare Nov 6, 2024
8 knoxlawcenter knoxlawcenter.com ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Business Services Nov 6, 2024
9 lacliniqueducoureur lacliniqueducoureur.com ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada Healthcare Nov 6, 2024
10 nightnurse.ch nightnurse.ch ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland Healthcare Nov 6, 2024
11 qualiform.cz qualiform.cz ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Republic Manufacturing Nov 6, 2024
12 SANJACINTOCOUNY co.san-jacinto.tx.us ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Public Sector Nov 6, 2024
13 SMARTS-ENGINEER smarts-engineering.de ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia Technology Nov 6, 2024
14 TIVOLI-33 tivoli-33.org ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France Healthcare Nov 6, 2024
15 VALLEYFIRM valleyfirm.com ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong Kong Business Services Nov 6, 2024
16 HBGJEWISHCOMMUN jewishharrisburg.org ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Consumer Services Aug 24, 2024
17 barryavenueplating barryavenueplating.com ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Manufacturing Aug 23, 2024
18 cincinnatipainphysicians cincinnatipainphysicians.com ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Healthcare Aug 22, 2024
19 kbosecurity.co.uk kbosecurity.co.uk ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom Business Services Aug 22, 2024
20 khonaysser.com khonaysser.com LB Energy Aug 22, 2024
21 BARRYAVEPLATING barryavenueplating.com ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Manufacturing Aug 21, 2024
22 RSK-IMMOBILIEN rsk-immobilien.de ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany Business Services Aug 21, 2024
23 ATP atpsassari.it ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy Business Services Aug 20, 2024
24 Khonaysser khonaysser.com LB Energy Aug 19, 2024
25 kbo kbosecurity.co.uk ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom โ€” Aug 18, 2024
26 zyxel Zyxel.eu ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands Technology Aug 17, 2024
27 hugwi hugwi.ch ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland Technology Aug 14, 2024
28 Albatros albatrossrl.it ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy โ€” Aug 13, 2024
29 AZIENDA TRASPORTI PUBBLICI S.P.A. atpsassari.it ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy Transportation/Logistics Aug 13, 2024
30 briju briju.pl ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland Business Services Aug 13, 2024
31 cbmm cbmm.org ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil Manufacturing Aug 13, 2024
32 deganis deganis.fr ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France Business Services Aug 13, 2024
33 MyFreightWorld myfreightworld.com ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Transportation/Logistics Aug 13, 2024
34 SCHLATTNER SCHLATTNER.de ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany โ€” Aug 13, 2024
35 vindix vindix.pl ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland โ€” Aug 13, 2024
36 XPERT Business Solutions GmbH x-bs.at ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria Business Services Aug 13, 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Helldown ransomware?

Helldown is a ransomware threat group that has claimed 36 victims since its first known activity in August 2024. The group operates by infiltrating target networks, exfiltrating data, encrypting files, and threatening to publish stolen data on a dark web leak site if the ransom is not paid.

How many victims has Helldown attacked?

Helldown has claimed 36 victims in our database, representing 0.2% of all tracked ransomware attacks. The most targeted countries are United States, Germany, Italy, France.

Which countries does Helldown target?

Helldown has attacked organizations in 17 countries. The top targeted countries are: United States, Germany, Italy, France.

Which industries does Helldown target?

Helldown most frequently targets the Business Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing sectors based on victim disclosures in our database.

Is Helldown still active?

Helldown's most recent victim disclosure in our database was on November 6, 2024. Ransomware groups frequently rebrand or go dormant; monitor this page and our ransomware map for the latest activity.