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Threat Actor

BlackLock Ransomware

blacklock_ransomware · unknown_likely_russia_aligned_eldorado_lineage · active since 2024-03

BlackLock Ransomware (Resecurity canonical analysis, operational emergence March 2024) is a financially-motivated cybercriminal RaaS operation that emerged in approximately March 2024, temporally coincident with the Eldorado Ransomware operation (eldorado_ransomware.yaml)

industry analysis (Resecurity, Halcyon, SOCRadar) has identified operational tradecraft, infrastructure patterns, and affiliate-recruitment messaging suggesting probable operational relationship with Eldorado, including operational hypotheses that BlackLock represents an operational rebrand of Eldorado, operational continuation under a renamed brand by Eldorado operators, or operational coordination with substantial operator overlap; operational-relationship analytical question remains partially open in public reporting, operationally similar to Cicada3301 / ALPHV (cicada3301.yaml) and Lynx / INC Ransom (lynx_ransomware.yaml) analytical-open-question patterns.

cross-platform ransomware encryptor deployment (Windows, Linux, VMware ESXi hypervisor targeting); operational scale through 2024-2025 positions BlackLock within the post-2024-disruption RaaS market alongside DragonForce, RansomHub, Akira, and other RaaS operations that benefited from affiliate migration following LockBit Operation Cronos disruption (February 2024) and ALPHV exit scam (March 2024)

operationally distinct from but ecosystem-adjacent to all other ransomware clusters curated separately in this corpus.

unknown_likely_russia_aligned_eldorado_lineage confidence: medium 8 aliases

Profile

BlackLock Ransomware (Resecurity canonical analysis, operational emergence March 2024) is a financially-motivated cybercriminal ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that emerged publicly in approximately March 2024 and operationally scaled significantly through 2024-2025. The cluster's operational distinctiveness in the ransomware ecosystem is concentrated in the analytical-open-question of operational relationship with the Eldorado Ransomware operation (eldorado_ransomware.yaml), industry analysis has identified operational tradecraft, infrastructure patterns, and affiliate-recruitment messaging suggesting probable operational relationship including operational hypotheses that BlackLock represents either an operational rebrand of Eldorado, an operational continuation under a renamed brand by Eldorado operators, or operational coordination with substantial operator overlap between the two designations. The operational-relationship analytical question places BlackLock within the broader pattern of analytical-open- question ransomware-cluster pairs documented in this corpus: Cicada3301 / ALPHV operational-relationship question (cicada3301.yaml, Rust-based code lineage following ALPHV March 2024 exit scam), Lynx / INC Ransom operational- relationship question (lynx_ransomware.yaml, code lineage from INC Ransom source code sale May-June 2024), and now BlackLock / Eldorado operational-relationship question.

The analytical pattern reflects the broader ransomware- ecosystem operational reality of operator-network operational continuity across multiple cluster designations, operators and affiliates frequently migrate between cluster brandings while preserving operational tradecraft and infrastructure patterns that enable industry analysts to identify operational relationships across nominally-distinct designations. Operational tradecraft includes initial access via compromised credentials and selective N-day vulnerability exploitation, conventional lateral movement, data exfiltration via rclone to cloud storage, cross-platform ransomware encryption with Windows, Linux, and VMware ESXi hypervisor targeting variants, double-extortion pressure via leak-site data publication, and RaaS affiliate framework with affiliate-recruitment activity on Russian-language cybercriminal forums. The operational scale through 2024-2025 positions BlackLock within the post-2024-disruption RaaS market alongside DragonForce (dragonforce.yaml), RansomHub, Akira (akira_ransomware.yaml), and other RaaS operations that have benefited from affiliate migration following operational disruption of previously-dominant RaaS operations (LockBit Operation Cronos February 2024, ALPHV March 2024 exit scam).

BlackLock is curated alongside the broader ransomware ecosystem coverage in this corpus. Its operational distinctiveness within this ecosystem is the BlackLock / Eldorado operational-relationship analytical-open-question and the post-2024-disruption RaaS market positioning.

Aliases

8
blacklock_ransomwareblacklock ransomwareblacklockeldorado_rebrand_blacklockel_dorado_successor_blacklockblacklock raasblacklock operatorsblacklockransomware

Notable Campaigns

3
2024-2025Eldorado Ransomware Operational Relationship Analytical Question
2024-2025BlackLock High-Volume Operations Through 2024-2025
2024BlackLock Ransomware Operational Emergence (March 2024)

Attribution & Reporting

Attributed by
ResecurityHalcyonSOCRadarRecorded FutureSentinelOneTrend MicroSophosBleepingComputerCISA (US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)DomainTools / Cisco Talos
Key reporting
reportResecurity: BlackLock Ransomware Eldorado Rebrand Analysis (2024-2025)
reportHalcyon: BlackLock Ransomware Threat Intelligence Profile
reportSOCRadar: BlackLock Ransomware Dark Web Profile
reportRecorded Future: BlackLock Ransomware Operational Tracking
reportBleepingComputer: BlackLock Ransomware Emerging RaaS Coverage
reportMalpedia Actor Profile: BlackLock Ransomware

Operational

State sponsor

Cybercriminal ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that emerged publicly in approximately March 2024 and operationally scaled significantly through 2024-2025. Industry analysis (Resecurity, Halcyon, SOCRadar, Recorded Future) has identified operational tradecraft, infrastructure patterns, and affiliate-recruitment messaging suggesting probable operational relationship with the Eldorado Ransomware operation (curated at eldorado_ransomware.yaml), including operational hypotheses that BlackLock represents either an operational rebrand of Eldorado, an operational continuation under a renamed brand by Eldorado operators, or operational coordination with substantial operator overlap between the two designations. The operational-relationship analytical question remains partially open in public reporting, similar to the analytical-open-question patterns observed with other ransomware cluster pairs in this corpus including the Cicada3301 / ALPHV operational-relationship question (cicada3301.yaml) and the Lynx / INC Ransom operational- relationship question (lynx_ransomware.yaml).

The cluster's operational origin is otherwise unclear in the public record, industry analysis has not formally attributed BlackLock Ransomware to specific national origin, government affiliation, or established cybercriminal organization beyond the broader Russian-aligned cybercriminal ecosystem operational context (Russian-language affiliate-recruitment forum posts, victim country avoidance patterns consistent with CIS-country exclusion, and operational tradecraft norms consistent with Russian-aligned cybercriminal ransomware operations). The cluster operates as a financially-motivated cybercriminal operation with no known state sponsorship.

Motivations
financial_gain, ransomware_extortion, double_extortion_data_exfiltration_and_encryption, cross_platform_ransomware_deployment, high_volume_raas_affiliate_operations, ransom_payment_extraction
Sectors
Regions

Detection Blind Spots

60 techniques
Across this actor’s 60 mapped techniques, the share covered by each detection layer. Low bars are where you’d be blind if this actor targeted you.
Behavioral / log (Sigma)57/60 · 95%
Analytics (MITRE CAR)34/60 · 56%
Runtime / container (Falco)7/60 · 11%
File / malware (YARA)0/60 · 0%
Network (Suricata/Snort)16/60 · 26%
Vuln scan (Nuclei)0/60 · 0%

Atomic Test Plan

30 techniques
Runnable Atomic Red Team tests covering this actor’s mapped techniques - validate your detections against this specific adversary. Cross-reference the blind spots above. For authorized lab / purple-team use. Open the full builder

Tools Used

1 mapped
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