Helldown Ransomware
TrackedThreat actor group tracked in the global ransomware database ยท Last disclosure: Nov 6, 2024
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 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Business Services | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 2 | children generaldentistryforchildren.com | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | Consumer Services | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 3 | compassfs compassfs.net | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Financial Services | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 4 | CSIKBS csikitchenandbath.com | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | Consumer Services | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 5 | fuelco fuelco-us.com | โ | Energy | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 6 | hausdesstiftens.org hausdesstiftens.org | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | Healthcare | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 7 | klinkamkurpark klinik-am-kurpark.de | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | Healthcare | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 8 | knoxlawcenter knoxlawcenter.com | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Business Services | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 9 | lacliniqueducoureur lacliniqueducoureur.com | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | Healthcare | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 10 | nightnurse.ch nightnurse.ch | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | Healthcare | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 11 | qualiform.cz qualiform.cz | ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | Manufacturing | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 12 | SANJACINTOCOUNY co.san-jacinto.tx.us | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Public Sector | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 13 | SMARTS-ENGINEER smarts-engineering.de | ๐ท๐บ Russia | Technology | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 14 | TIVOLI-33 tivoli-33.org | ๐ซ๐ท France | Healthcare | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 15 | VALLEYFIRM valleyfirm.com | ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong | Business Services | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 16 | HBGJEWISHCOMMUN jewishharrisburg.org | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Consumer Services | Aug 24, 2024 |
| 17 | barryavenueplating barryavenueplating.com | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Manufacturing | Aug 23, 2024 |
| 18 | cincinnatipainphysicians cincinnatipainphysicians.com | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Healthcare | Aug 22, 2024 |
| 19 | kbosecurity.co.uk kbosecurity.co.uk | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | Business Services | Aug 22, 2024 |
| 20 | khonaysser.com khonaysser.com | LB | Energy | Aug 22, 2024 |
| 21 | BARRYAVEPLATING barryavenueplating.com | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Manufacturing | Aug 21, 2024 |
| 22 | RSK-IMMOBILIEN rsk-immobilien.de | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | Business Services | Aug 21, 2024 |
| 23 | ATP atpsassari.it | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | Business Services | Aug 20, 2024 |
| 24 | Khonaysser khonaysser.com | LB | Energy | Aug 19, 2024 |
| 25 | kbo kbosecurity.co.uk | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | โ | Aug 18, 2024 |
| 26 | zyxel Zyxel.eu | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | Technology | Aug 17, 2024 |
| 27 | hugwi hugwi.ch | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | Technology | Aug 14, 2024 |
| 28 | Albatros albatrossrl.it | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | โ | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 29 | AZIENDA TRASPORTI PUBBLICI S.P.A. atpsassari.it | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | Transportation/Logistics | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 30 | briju briju.pl | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | Business Services | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 31 | cbmm cbmm.org | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | Manufacturing | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 32 | deganis deganis.fr | ๐ซ๐ท France | Business Services | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 33 | MyFreightWorld myfreightworld.com | ๐บ๐ธ United States | Transportation/Logistics | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 34 | SCHLATTNER SCHLATTNER.de | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | โ | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 35 | vindix vindix.pl | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | โ | Aug 13, 2024 |
| 36 | XPERT Business Solutions GmbH x-bs.at | ๐ฆ๐น 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.