Ransomware Research

About DarkSide

DarkSide

DarkSide was first discovered in August 2020 in enterprise cloud environments.

Name DarkSide
First Seen August 2020

Genealogy

To better understand DarkSide, we can trace it’s origins. Below is a snapshot of DarkSide’s genealogy.

Sodinokibi » DarkSide » BlackMatter
Targeting

Behavior of DarkSide

DarkSide is known to target specific file types. Below are all known file types that DarkSide is known to infect.

In some cases, ransomware will update the modified date, when it encrypts files. DarkSide updates the last modified date of the file it targets.

Learn More

Characteristics of DarkSide

Here are some of the unique characteristics that are helpful to know about DarkSide.

Suffixes

Some ransomware will change or append a suffix to the end of the file after they are encrypted, including changing the extension of a file. Here are some of the possible suffixes that DarkSide ransomware is known to change.

Suffixes/.[0-9a-f]{8}$/

Ransomware Notes

Not all ransomware leaves a note. However, some ransomware leaves the infected party instructions on what the user should do to get rid of the ransomware, or satisfy the ransom. This often involves transferring money, often bitcoin or another cryptocurrency to a designated wallet.

Below are the type(s) of notes, content, and typical locations where Elastio has found ransom notes from DarkSide.

Typefile
File Name/^README.[0-9a-f]{8}.TXT$/
LocationEveryFolder

Executables

These are the names of the executables that contain the undetonated ransomware payload for DarkSide.

ExecutablesTZXG9esW.exe, acer.exe, 8nk8SUWm.exe, ut.exe, dark_side12.exe, RDZQKMaygacTXDgnBZrnamh.exe, GrkkupZg.exe, idfoodsf.exe, WtrA3YYo.exe, dsfds.exe, UVyqsfEZ.exe, #Ransom #DARKSIDE.bin, 2.exe, calimalimodumator.exe, MicSwitch.exe, dark_side28.exe, 3Opi9pp1.exe, Darkside.exe, EMOTET.exe, homie.exe, mokster_encryptor.bin, partmgr.sys, sample2.exe, aF8OQuGk.exe, mokster_encryptor.exe

External Pages

Ransomware often links to external pages such as payment pages, telegram contacts, etc. Below are some of the URLs Elastio has found to be associated with DarkSide.

External Pages
  • http://darksidedxcftmqa.onion
  • http://darksidfqzcuhtk2.onion
  • http://dark24zz36xm4y2phwe7yvnkkkkhxionhfrwp67awpb3r3bdcneivoqd.onion
  • mailto:darkside@99email.xyz
  • mailto:darkside@solpatu.space
  • http://dark24vx6fsmdrtbzdzjv6ckz4yqyued4uz455oqpctko7m6vbrzibad.onion
  • http://dark24vx6fsmdrtbzdzjv6ckz4yqyued4uz455oqpctko7m6vbrzibad.onion/XES2TUV3A9QL89IS7QX91V7TYSF13ASPGB2TASQ68R9Z6QYH69OVY833QSRSFU4I
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