FBI Takes Down Ransomware Gang Hacking Dozens

The FBI announced on Monday that it had confiscated the servers of Radar (also known as Dispossessor), a ransomware and extortion gang

At the time of this writing, Radar’s website is accompanied by a message from law enforcement that reads, “This website has been seized.” It is an uncommon victory for the FBI, which has found it difficult to contain and mitigate the increasing ransomware threat in conjunction with global law enforcement agencies.

The FBI’s Cleveland, Ohio, field office issued a statement announcing the seizure of the gang’s domains and servers, which are situated in the United Kingdom and Germany. The agency stated that Radar/Dispossessor had at least 43 victim companies since the gang’s inception in August 2023.

According to the FBI, the Radar/Dispossessor group, headed by a ringleader named “Brain,” would exploit security vulnerabilities in the systems of a victim company, steal substantial quantities of data, and encrypt the company’s data. The gang would threaten to publish the data if the ransom was not paid, a common tactic used by extortion gangs known as “double extortion.” In exchange for a ransom, the data would be held captive.