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Ransomware victim Manufacturing

active-pcb.com

Listed by Blackbasta on · organisation based in United Kingdom

active-pcb.com

Disclosed
May 4, 2024
Leak-site listing date
Threat group
Blackbasta
193 victims listed
Country
United Kingdom
#4 most targeted
Sector
Manufacturing

ThreatAI analysis

Compiled from this incident record and the threat intelligence profile for Blackbasta. Figures and technique mappings are quoted from the source data, not inferred.

About the Blackbasta group

"Black Basta" is a new ransomware strain discovered during April 2022 - looks in dev since at least early February 2022 - and due to their ability to quickly amass new victims and the style of their negotiations, this is likely not a new operation but rather a rebrand of a previous top-tier ransomware gang that brought along their affiliates. Blackbasta has listed 523 victims since April 2022.

How Blackbasta is documented to operate

Windows Management Instrumentation T1047 Execution

Adversaries may abuse Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to execute malicious commands and payloads. WMI is designed for programmers and is the infrastructure for management data and operations on Windows systems. WMI is an administration feature that provides a uniform environment to access Windows system components. The WMI service enables both local and remote access, though the latter is facilitated by Remote Services such as Distributed Component Object Model and Windows Remote Management. Remote WMI over DCOM operates using port 135, whereas WMI over WinRM operates over port 5985 when using HTTP and 5986 for HTTPS.

Mitigations: Execution Prevention, Behavior Prevention on Endpoint, User Account Management, Privileged Account Management

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Account Manipulation T1098 Persistence Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may manipulate accounts to maintain and/or elevate access to victim systems. Account manipulation may consist of any action that preserves or modifies adversary access to a compromised account, such as modifying credentials or permission groups. These actions could also include account activity designed to subvert security policies, such as performing iterative password updates to bypass password duration policies and preserve the life of compromised credentials. In order to create or manipulate accounts, the adversary must already have sufficient permissions on systems or the domain.

Mitigations: Operating System Configuration, Network Segmentation, User Account Management, Restrict File and Directory Permissions, Privileged Account Management, Multi-factor Authentication

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Create Account T1136 Persistence

Adversaries may create an account to maintain access to victim systems. With a sufficient level of access, creating such accounts may be used to establish secondary credentialed access that do not require persistent remote access tools to be deployed on the system. Accounts may be created on the local system or within a domain or cloud tenant. In cloud environments, adversaries may create accounts that only have access to specific services, which can reduce the chance of detection.

Mitigations: Operating System Configuration, Network Segmentation, Privileged Account Management, Multi-factor Authentication

MITRE ATT&CK reference

MITRE ATT&CK techniques attributed to Blackbasta across its recorded activity, not a finding about how active-pcb.com was reached.

Vulnerabilities Blackbasta is recorded exploiting

6 of these 6 are in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, 6 of them recorded by CISA as used in ransomware campaigns. CVEs attributed to Blackbasta across its reported activity. There is no indication that any of these was involved in the active-pcb.com incident — the source data does not record an entry point.

Incident analysis

active-pcb.com was listed by Blackbasta ransomware, a group with 193 victims recorded in this database. The listing appeared on the group's leak site on May 4, 2024.

active-pcb.com is based in United Kingdom and operates in the Manufacturing sector. United Kingdom ranks #4 worldwide for ransomware disclosures, with 969 victims in this database.

Sector context. Manufacturing companies are frequently targeted because production downtime directly translates to financial loss. Ransomware operators exploit this time-sensitivity to demand higher ransoms and faster payment.

Blackbasta typically follows a double extortion model: data is exfiltrated from the victim's systems before files are encrypted, so the victim faces two demands at once — pay to restore access, and pay to keep stolen data unpublished. The leak site, where this listing appeared, is the lever for the second demand.

Source. Public leak-site disclosures aggregated via the ransomware.live API. The disclosure date is when the listing was published, which can differ from the date of compromise. This site does not publish or link to stolen data. Last updated .

Frequently asked questions

Was active-pcb.com attacked by ransomware?

Yes. active-pcb.com was listed as a victim of the Blackbasta ransomware group on May 4, 2024. The organisation is based in United Kingdom and operates in the Manufacturing sector. The disclosure appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

Which ransomware group attacked active-pcb.com?

active-pcb.com was attacked by Blackbasta ransomware. Blackbasta is one of the most active ransomware groups, having claimed 193 victims globally. The group typically employs a double-extortion model: encrypting the victim's files and threatening to publish stolen data.

When did the active-pcb.com ransomware attack occur?

The ransomware attack on active-pcb.com was disclosed on May 4, 2024. This date reflects when the victim was published on the threat group's leak site, which may differ from the actual date of initial compromise.

What data was stolen in the active-pcb.com ransomware attack?

The specific data stolen from active-pcb.com has not been independently verified by this platform. Ransomware groups typically exfiltrate data before encrypting systems and use the threat of publication to pressure victims. As a Manufacturing organisation, active-pcb.com likely held sensitive business data, client information, and operational records.

How can organisations protect against Blackbasta attacks?

To defend against Blackbasta and similar threat actors, organisations should: maintain regular offline backups tested for restoration; implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement; deploy multi-factor authentication on all remote access; use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools; conduct regular phishing and security awareness training; and monitor threat intelligence feeds for indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with active groups.