Case Study
Case Study: China-based Threat Actors Abuse Velociraptor in Ransomware Operations
📊Incident Overview
Date & Scale: The incident was reported in October 2025, impacting multiple organizations across various sectors, with significant operational disruptions noted in affected companies.
Perpetrators: The threat actor group known as Storm-2603, based in China, was identified as responsible for the attack.
Perpetrators: The threat actor group known as Storm-2603, based in China, was identified as responsible for the attack.
🔧Technical Breakdown
The attack utilized an outdated version of the Velociraptor tool, which is typically used for endpoint monitoring and digital forensics. Storm-2603 exploited vulnerabilities in this legitimate tool to:
- Establish persistence within compromised networks.
- Deploy multiple ransomware strains, notably Warlock, LockBit, and Babuk.
- Utilize advanced evasion techniques to bypass security measures, leveraging Velociraptor’s capabilities to manipulate and maintain control over infected systems without detection.
- Establish persistence within compromised networks.
- Deploy multiple ransomware strains, notably Warlock, LockBit, and Babuk.
- Utilize advanced evasion techniques to bypass security measures, leveraging Velociraptor’s capabilities to manipulate and maintain control over infected systems without detection.
💥Damage & Data Exfiltration
The following items were compromised or stolen:
- Source code and configurations for critical applications.
- Sensitive customer data, including personal identifiable information (PII).
- Corporate financial data and proprietary business information.
- Backup files, which may contain sensitive operational data.
- Access credentials for various internal systems, increasing the risk of further attacks.
- Source code and configurations for critical applications.
- Sensitive customer data, including personal identifiable information (PII).
- Corporate financial data and proprietary business information.
- Backup files, which may contain sensitive operational data.
- Access credentials for various internal systems, increasing the risk of further attacks.
⚠️Operational Disruptions
- Businesses faced significant downtime as they worked to contain and remediate the ransomware attack.
- Critical services were interrupted, leading to financial losses and reputational damage.
- Organizations incurred additional costs related to incident response and recovery efforts.
- Legal implications arose due to data breaches, affecting compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.
- Critical services were interrupted, leading to financial losses and reputational damage.
- Organizations incurred additional costs related to incident response and recovery efforts.
- Legal implications arose due to data breaches, affecting compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.
🔍Root Causes
The following issues contributed to the success of the ransomware attack:
Outdated Software: The exploited version of Velociraptor was unpatched, allowing attackers to leverage its vulnerabilities.
Lack of Security Awareness: Employees were not adequately trained to recognize phishing attempts or unusual system behaviors.
Inadequate Monitoring: Organizations lacked sufficient monitoring and incident response capabilities to detect the initial breach.
Weak Access Controls: Poorly managed credentials and authentication processes facilitated unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
Outdated Software: The exploited version of Velociraptor was unpatched, allowing attackers to leverage its vulnerabilities.
Lack of Security Awareness: Employees were not adequately trained to recognize phishing attempts or unusual system behaviors.
Inadequate Monitoring: Organizations lacked sufficient monitoring and incident response capabilities to detect the initial breach.
Weak Access Controls: Poorly managed credentials and authentication processes facilitated unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
📚Lessons Learned
To mitigate future incidents, organizations should consider the following actionable recommendations:
Regular Software Updates: Ensure all software, especially security tools, are kept up-to-date with the latest patches to reduce vulnerabilities.
Employee Training: Implement ongoing cybersecurity training for employees to enhance awareness of potential threats and phishing tactics.
Enhance Monitoring Capabilities: Invest in advanced threat detection and monitoring tools to identify unusual activities in real-time.
Strengthen Access Controls: Utilize multi-factor authentication and regularly review access privileges to critical systems.
Incident Response Planning: Develop and regularly update an incident response plan to ensure preparedness for potential ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity incidents.
Regular Software Updates: Ensure all software, especially security tools, are kept up-to-date with the latest patches to reduce vulnerabilities.
Employee Training: Implement ongoing cybersecurity training for employees to enhance awareness of potential threats and phishing tactics.
Enhance Monitoring Capabilities: Invest in advanced threat detection and monitoring tools to identify unusual activities in real-time.
Strengthen Access Controls: Utilize multi-factor authentication and regularly review access privileges to critical systems.
Incident Response Planning: Develop and regularly update an incident response plan to ensure preparedness for potential ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity incidents.