The BianLian Ransomware Gang's Latest Attack

The BianLian ransomware gang has allegedly attacked Handok Inc. BianLian posted Handok Inc's details to its data leak site on June 2nd. Handok Inc is an integrated pharmaceutical company providing drugs, medical devices, and in-vitro diagnostics instruments and devices. Handok is headquartered in Seoul, Korea, and employs 846 people. It has neither confirmed nor denied the attack.

Who is BianLian?

BianLian is an infamous cybercriminal organization involved in the development and deployment of ransomware. Since June 2022, they have targeted various critical infrastructure sectors in the United States. Additionally, they have extended their attacks to include Australian critical infrastructure sectors, as well as professional services and property development domains.

How Does BianLian Operate?

To gain unauthorized access to their victims' systems, the group exploits valid Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) credentials. They employ open-source tools and command-line scripts to carry out reconnaissance and gather credentials. Victim data is then extracted using File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Rclone, or Mega. Subsequently, the BianLian group proceeds to extort money from their victims by threatening to expose the obtained data unless a payment is made.

Initially, the group utilized a double-extortion approach, which involved encrypting victims' systems after data exfiltration. However, starting around January 2023, they primarily focused on data exfiltration-based extortion.