Venezuelan doctor accused of having created Thanos and Jigsaw ransomware
The US Department of Justice has charged a Venezuelan cardiologist, who used different aliases such as Nosophoros, Aesculapius and Nabuchadnezzar, with being the creator of the Thanos and Jigsaw ransomwares. He has alleged that he not only created and sold these products to cybercriminals, but also trained them in their use by providing them with assistance.
The first tool he allegedly created was Jigsaw v.2, with a Doomsday counter that recorded how many times the victim tried to eradicate the threat; if the victim did not pay up, the cybercriminal was advised to erase the entire infected hard drive.
The second tool was reportedly created in late 2019. Thanos was sold as a private ransomware generator, which allowed attackers to create a unique, customised threat that they could use themselves or offer to others as as-a-service ransomware.
References:
- 16/05/2022 justice.gov Hacker and Ransomware Designer Charged for Use and Sale of Ransomware, and Profit Sharing Arrangements with Cybercriminals
- 18/05/2022 hipertextual.com Un médico venezolano, en el punto mira de EE.UU por crear los ransomware Thanos y Jigsaw
- 17/05/2022 cnnespanol.cnn.com Fiscales estadounidenses acusan a médico en Venezuela de crear y vender software malicioso usado para ataques de ransomware
- 18/05/2022 digitaltrends.com Médico venezolano está detrás de ransomware Thanos y Jigsaw
- 18/05/2022 escudodigital.com Un cardiólogo venezolano, identificado como el cerebro tras varios ransomware
- 17/05/2022 hackarizona.org Estados Unidos acusa a médico venezolano por usar y vender ransomware Thanos