TeleBots

The TeleBots APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) is believed to originate from the Russian Federation. Though, this information is yet to be confirmed. Malware experts have determined that it is likely that some of the TeleBots members also have taken part in threatening campaigns carried out by other hacking groups like the GreyEnergy, the Sandworm team and BlackEnergy. It is largely believed that the TeleBots hacking group was involved in the infamous cyber-attack targeting the Ukrainian power grid back in 2015. This campaign is significant, particularly because it is one of the first of its kind – a large-scale hacking campaign causing a total blackout is not a common occurrence at all. In 2017 the TeleBots group also went after industry and finance-related targets located in Ukraine.

The TeleBots APT Created the Petya Ransomware and the NotPetya Ransomware

After the campaign in 2015, the TeleBots hacking group has stopped using the BlackEnergy threat. However, they have since introduced new tools to their hacking arsenal. The TeleBots group is believed to be the actor behind the notorious Petya Ransomware, as well as the NotPetya Ransomware operations. Malware researchers have estimated that the NotPetya Ransomware alone has resulted in over $10 Billion in damages to various businesses and corporations. Most ransomware threats encrypt the targets’ files, but the Petya Ransomware and the NotPetya Ransomware instead go after the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the hard drive making it extremely difficult, if at all possible, to recover from the attack, unless the operators of the threat decide to assist you.

The KillDisk Ransomware

Apart from the Petya Ransomware and the NotPetya Ransomware, the TeleBots hacking group has developed another nasty pest of this kind – the KillDisk Ransomware. The KillDisk Ransomware is capable of targeting Windows machines, as well as systems running Linux. This threat does not encrypt files and does not lock the hard drive’s MBR. It does, however, overwrite the targeted data completely. This means that your files will be damaged permanently, and you will be unable to recover any of the lost data unless you have it backed up. A later variant of the KillDisk Ransomware demands a hefty ransom fee of $250,000.

The TeleBots hacking group is likely to remain on the map as they are developing new hacking tools and launching new campaigns against high-ranking individuals and large organizations worldwide actively.