Threat actor

DragonForce

0 mentions in 7 days · 4 in 30 days · 4 total · first seen Aug 17, 2026 · last 22d ago

Timeline4 articles

GentleKiller targets more than 400 security processes across 48 products

ESET details the Gentlemen ransomware gang's in-house GentleKiller EDR-killer framework targeting over 400 security processes across 48 products, supplied to affiliates.

ESET analyzed the Gentlemen ransomware gang's in-house GentleKiller EDR-killer framework, confirmed through an internal data leak from May 2026. The framework has at least eight variants impersonating legitimate security products and abusing vulnerable or malicious kernel drivers, targeting more than 400 process names across 48 security products. Gentlemen emerged in late 2025, became one of the five most active ransomware gangs in Q1 2026, offers affiliates a 90% ransom share, and practices double extortion using Go-based and C-based ESXi encryptors. The suite also reuses outside tools including HexKiller, ThrottleBlood, and HavocKiller, unified by a shared evasion layer that mimics well-known security vendors.

Help Net SecurityAug 24, 04:22 UTC · 22d agoRansomware in the wild

Ransom Busters Claims It Hacked Ransomware Servers, Asks Victims for Up to $60,000

GuidePoint reports a ransomware affiliate posing as 'Ransom Busters' charges victims $20,000-$60,000 to delete stolen data, and details UNC6671's $8M AitM extortion wave.

GuidePoint's GRIT team reports that 'Ransom Busters', likely a ransomware affiliate active across multiple RaaS operations including DragonForce, Settra and Anubis, proactively emails victims claiming it deleted their stolen data and backups for a $20,000-$60,000 fee, citing claimed access to RaaS administrative panels for over three years. Two analyzed intrusions shared tooling: SoftPerfect Network Scanner for reconnaissance, s5cmd-based exfiltration to AWS cloud storage, an RMM tool installed via PowerShell, a backdoor account with password 'Numlock!123' and the same attacker hostname DESKTOP-BBETH6K. Separately, GRIT detailed UNC6671's (Cordial Spider) adversary-in-the-middle vishing operation running since April under five extortion brands, with more than $8 million across 15 Bitcoin wallets, an average of $600,000 per payment, and 78 phishing sub-domains across 76 organizations, 40% in financial services.

The Hacker NewsAug 18, 17:35 UTC · 28d agoThreat actor in the wild1

DragonForce Hackers Abuse Microsoft Teams Relays to Hide Backdoor.Turn C2 Traffic

Symantec and Carbon Black found DragonForce-linked hackers using Backdoor.Turn, a Go RAT tunneling C2 through Microsoft Teams TURN relays via QUIC.

Broadcom's Symantec and Carbon Black documented Backdoor.Turn, a Go-based RAT associated with the DragonForce ransomware group, deployed at a major U.S. services firm where attackers remained on the network for one to two months. The backdoor obtains an anonymous Teams visitor token from Microsoft's Skype-backed identity services, uses a legitimate Microsoft TURN relay for connection setup, and runs a QUIC session to the attacker's C2 server, so defenders see only outbound traffic to legitimate Teams servers. Initial access is suspected to involve exploiting a SQL/MS-SQL vulnerability or an access broker, followed by a PowerShell-dropped ZIP, DLL side-loading, and BYOVD evasion using a Huawei driver; the RAT is injected into DbgView64.exe after DragonForce ransomware deployment for continued access. First publicly documented TURN abuse by the group, it leverages Praetorian's Ghost Calls technique and supports command execution, network scanning, LDAP/AD search, lateral movement, and browser credential theft.

The Hacker NewsAug 18, 12:13 UTC · 28d agoMalware CVE-2023-52271 CVE-2025-61155 CVE-2025-10551

Dragonforce Turf War Ransomware

Infosecurity Magazine reports a turf war within the DragonForce ransomware operation, which could affect its cartel-style affiliate ecosystem.

The article covers reported internal tensions inside the DragonForce ransomware group, which operates a cartel-style model leasing ransomware tools and infrastructure to affiliates. A turf war could disrupt affiliate relationships, recruitment, and the group's operational tempo. Specific details were not included in the available text.

Infosecurity MagazineAug 17, 00:00 UTC · 29d agoRansomware

Related CVEsby mentions

CVE-2023-522716.5<1%
The wsftprm.sys kernel driver 2.0.0.0 in Topaz Antifraud allows low-privileged attackers to kill any (Protected Process Light) process via an IOCTL (which will
The wsftprm.sys kernel driver 2.0.0.0 in Topaz Antifraud allows low-privileged attackers to kill any (Protected Process Light) process via an IOCTL (which will be named at a later time).
· topazevolution antifraud PoC —
CVE-2025-10555.6<1%
A vulnerability in the K7RKScan.sys driver, part of the K7 Security Anti-Malware suite, allows a local low-privilege user to send crafted IOCTL requests to term
A vulnerability in the K7RKScan.sys driver, part of the K7 Security Anti-Malware suite, allows a local low-privilege user to send crafted IOCTL requests to terminate a wide range of processes running with administrative or system-level privileges, with the exception of those inherently protected by the operating system. This flaw stems from missing access control in the driver's IOCTL handler, enabling unprivileged users to perform privileged actions in kernel space. Successful exploitation can lead to denial of service by disrupting critical services or privileged applications.
—
CVE-2025-611555.5<1%
The GameDriverX64.sys kernel-mode anti-cheat driver (v7.23.4.7 and earlier) contains an access control vulnerability in one of its IOCTL handlers.
The GameDriverX64.sys kernel-mode anti-cheat driver (v7.23.4.7 and earlier) contains an access control vulnerability in one of its IOCTL handlers. A user-mode process can open a handle to the driver device and send specially crafted IOCTL requests. These requests are executed in kernel-mode context without proper authentication or access validation, allowing the attacker to terminate arbitrary processes, including critical system and security services, without requiring administrative privileges.
—

Appears with

threat actor Cordial Spider 1 threat actor Gentlemen 1 threat actor Hackledorb 1 threat actor MedusaLocker 1 threat actor Qilin 1 threat actor Ransom Busters 1 threat actor RansomHub 1 threat actor Settra 1 threat actor Shiny Hunters 1 threat actor UNC6671 1 threat actor Warlock 1 malware Backdoor.Turn 1 malware DragonForce 1 malware GentleKiller 1 organization ESET 1 threat actor Anubis 1

Entities are extracted by the model from each article. Watching an entity keeps it in this browser only (no account); the watchlist page and dashboard alerts use it.