Hunters

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Hunters, so this is our assessment of the techniques it uses, drawn from public reporting. The techniques themselves, and every "what that means" definition below, come from MITRE ATT&CK v19.2. Confidence: medium. Treat it as orientation, not attribution.

1. T1059.001 PowerShell Execution

   What they do: hunters uses PowerShell scripts to execute malicious commands and deploy payloads across compromised systems.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.

2. T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder PersistencePrivilege Escalation

   What they do: hunters modifies Registry Run Keys and startup folders to maintain persistence across reboots.

   What that means: Adversaries may achieve persistence by adding a program to a startup folder or referencing it with a Registry run key.

3. T1685 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Impairment

   What they do: hunters disables security tools and event logging mechanisms to hinder detection and forensic analysis.

   What that means: Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detection systems (IDS), antivirus, logging agents, sensors, etc.) to impair or reduce visibility of defensive capabilities.

4. T1070.004 File Deletion Stealth

   What they do: hunters deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup directories via command-line utilities to prevent data recovery.

   What that means: Adversaries may delete files left behind by the actions of their intrusion activity.

5. T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery

   What they do: hunters performs remote system discovery to identify additional targets and high-value assets for encryption.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.

6. T1049 System Network Connections Discovery Discovery

   What they do: hunters queries system network connections to identify active services and communication endpoints for targeting.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of network connections to or from the compromised system they are currently accessing or from remote systems by querying for information over the network.

7. T1135 Network Share Discovery Discovery

   What they do: hunters uses network share discovery to locate accessible SMB shares for lateral movement and victim data targeting.

   What that means: Adversaries may look for folders and drives shared on remote systems as a means of identifying sources of information to gather as a precursor for Collection and to identify potential systems of interest for Lateral Movement.

8. T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares Lateral Movement

   What they do: hunters leverages SMB/Windows Admin Shares for lateral movement between networked hosts within victim environments.

   What that means: Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to interact with a remote network share using Server Message Block (SMB).

9. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

   What they do: hunters encrypts victim files using impact-oriented encryption routines to maximize disruption and ransom demand leverage.

   What that means: Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

10. T1491.001 Internal Defacement Impact

    What they do: hunters performs internal defacement by replacing victim files with custom content to demonstrate impact.

    What that means: An adversary may deface systems internal to an organization in an attempt to intimidate or mislead users, thus discrediting the integrity of the systems.

Software Hunters has been seen using, grouped by what it is used for. Legitimate administration tools appear here because these actors routinely abuse them — presence in this list is not itself malicious.

Tool data from Ransomware Tool Matrix by BushidoUK, licensed CC BY 4.0. Grouped by purpose and matched to this group by Breach House.

The note this group leaves on a compromised machine. Click a filename to read it.

1. WHAT HAPPENED? <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Your company's network has been compromised by the HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL group.
All files are encrypted using a military-grade AES encryption algorithm.
A large amount of sensitive data was exfiltrated.

We usually download:

- Employees personal data: CVs, DL, SSN, PII, NDA contracts, etc.
- Financial information: documents, payrolls, bank statements, bills, transfers,
  budgets, annual reports, etc.
- Customer data: contracts, PII, contacts, purchase agreements, etc.
- Confidential: source code, trade secrets, technology, blueprints, documents, 
  etc.
- Work files, databases, legal documents, corporate correspondence.
- Accounting data.
- Audit reports.


2. WHAT DO WE OFFER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

To prevent exfiltrated data from being disclosed and to decrypt all the files 
you need to make a payment. Contact us following the instructions:

1) Install and run “Tor Browser” from https://www.torproject.org/download/

2) Go to a dedicated website:
https://hunters33mmcwww7ek7q5ndahul6nmzmrsumfs6aenicbqon6mxfiqyd.onion/
https://hunters33dootzzwybhxyh6xnmumopeoza6u4hkontdqu7awnhmix7ad.onion/ (mirror)

3) Log in using the credentials: [snip]:[snip]


3. WHAT IF NOT? <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

We have the most powerful data leak site on the Internet. There are a lot of 
journalists, researchers and other hackers.

https://hunters55rdxciehoqzwv7vgyv6nt37tbwax2reroyzxhou7my5ejyid.onion/
https://huntersinternational.net/ (mirror)

An incomplete list of risks you are facing in case of non-payment:

 - Loss of customer trust and loyalty.
 - Damage to the company's reputation.
 - Legal consequences and compliance fines.
 - Financial losses and costs associated with data recovery.
 - Impact on competitive advantage and market share.
 - Breach of data privacy regulations and laws.
 - Disruption of business operations.
 - Reduced employee morale and productivity.
 - Potential for intellectual property theft.
 - Loss of trade secrets and proprietary information.


4. KEEP IN MIND <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

- Do not try to decrypt using third-party software. You will damage the files.
- Do not report to the Police, FBI, etc. They don't care about your business.
  They simply won't allow you to pay. As a result, you will lose everything.
- Do not hire a recovery company. They can't decrypt without the key.
  They also don't care about your business. They believe that they are
  good negotiators, but it is not. They usually fail. So speak for yourself.
- Do not reject to pay. Exfiltrated files will be disclosed right away.

_   _ _   _ _   _ _____ _____ ____  ____                                   
 | | | | | | | \ | |_   _| ____|  _ \/ ___|                                  
 | |_| | | | |  \| | | | |  _| | |_) \___ \                                  
 |  _  | |_| | |\  | | | | |___|  _ < ___) |                                 
 |_|_|_|\___/|_|_\_|_|_|_|_____|_|_\_\____/____ ___ ___  _   _    _    _     
 |_ _| \ | |_   _| ____|  _ \| \ | |  / \|_   _|_ _/ _ \| \ | |  / \  | |    
  | ||  \| | | | |  _| | |_) |  \| | / _ \ | |  | | | | |  \| | / _ \ | |    
  | || |\  | | | | |___|  _ <| |\  |/ ___ \| |  | | |_| | |\  |/ ___ \| |___ 
 |___|_| \_| |_| |_____|_| \_\_| \_/_/   \_\_| |___\___/|_| \_/_/   \_\_____|
                                                                             
To contact us follow the instructions:

1) Install and run “Tor Browser” from https://www.torproject.org/download/
2) Go to https://hunters33mmcwww7ek7q5ndahul6nmzmrsumfs6aenicbqon6mxfiqyd.onion/
or https://hunters33dootzzwybhxyh6xnmumopeoza6u4hkontdqu7awnhmix7ad.onion/
3) Log in using the credentials: [snip]

---
Don't waste time. Inform your CEO about the incident ASAP. Show Data Leak Site: 
https://hunters55rdxciehoqzwv7vgyv6nt37tbwax2reroyzxhou7my5ejyid.onion/
or https://hunters55atbdusuladzv7vzv6a423bkh6ksl2uftwrxyuarbzlfh7yd.onion/

_   _ _   _ _   _ _____ _____ ____  ____                                   
 | | | | | | | \ | |_   _| ____|  _ \/ ___|                                  
 | |_| | | | |  \| | | | |  _| | |_) \___ \                                  
 |  _  | |_| | |\  | | | | |___|  _ < ___) |                                 
 |_|_|_|\___/|_|_\_|_|_|_|_____|_|_\_\____/____ ___ ___  _   _    _    _     
 |_ _| \ | |_   _| ____|  _ \| \ | |  / \|_   _|_ _/ _ \| \ | |  / \  | |    
  | ||  \| | | | |  _| | |_) |  \| | / _ \ | |  | | | | |  \| | / _ \ | |    
  | || |\  | | | | |___|  _ <| |\  |/ ___ \| |  | | |_| | |\  |/ ___ \| |___ 
 |___|_| \_| |_| |_____|_| \_\_| \_/_/   \_\_| |___\___/|_| \_/_/   \_\_____|
                                                                             
To contact us follow the instructions:

1) Install and run “Tor Browser” from https://www.torproject.org/download/
2) Go to https://hunters33mmcwww7ek7q5ndahul6nmzmrsumfs6aenicbqon6mxfiqyd.onion/
3) Log in using the credentials: [snip]

---
Don't waste time. Inform your CEO about the incident ASAP. Show Data Leak Site: 
https://hunters55rdxciehoqzwv7vgyv6nt37tbwax2reroyzxhou7my5ejyid.onion/

Ransom-note text from RansomLook, licensed CC BY 4.0.