Severity
High
Analysis Summary
DragonForce Ransomware is a relatively new but highly disruptive ransomware strain that emerged in mid-2023 and gained prominence throughout 2024. Believed to have originated from a cybercriminal collective operating out of Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia, DragonForce is known for its aggressive double-extortion tactics—encrypting victim data and threatening to leak sensitive information unless a ransom is paid.
While not officially attributed to a well-known Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group, threat researchers have observed TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures) that resemble those used by APT38 (linked to North Korea) and FIN12, suggesting either collaboration or imitation. Some sources have also referred to the ransomware under aliases such as DFLocker or ForceCrypt, depending on slight code variations and ransom note signatures.
DragonForce has primarily targeted critical infrastructure, healthcare, and logistics sectors, with a clear pattern of targeting high-value organizations across North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. A spike in activity was noted in late 2024, with several hospital systems and freight operators forced into downtime.
In 2025, the group launched a coordinated campaign against multiple cloud service providers and MSPs (Managed Service Providers), exploiting known vulnerabilities in outdated RMM tools. The group also incorporated new evasion techniques, including custom obfuscators and living-off-the-land binaries (LOLBins), making detection significantly harder.
Its recent activity shows a shift toward persistent access and modular payloads, indicating a maturation of its toolset and operational strategy. Security agencies have raised the threat level associated with DragonForce as it continues to evolve.
Impact
- Operational Disruption
- Data Exfiltration
- Financial Loss
- Reputational Damage
Indicators of Compromise
MD5
3a514e164db30acdb3063eb79a23aa4f
f0410358a0d9dbd0dff3113d9c744ca7
99be93aa4c34b39fedcd37663c34511f
SHA-256
d06b5a200292fedcfb4d4aecac32387a2e5b5bb09aaab5199c56bab3031257d6
80e3a04fa68be799b3c91737e1918f8394b250603a231a251524244e4d7f77d9
b714cb02cfd5d67e1502b45242636ee6b35c1b609072d3082378c50a177df15d
SHA1
ed7c78250305f2fef222612285622fbebdf77dfd
0b812c1b1ae8299fcaf9ac192587eeed76f5abe4
1a81b753c9a8a026a1c99de7c920c063560ca165
Remediation
- Block all threat indicators at your respective controls.
- Search for indicators of compromise (IOCs) in your environment utilizing your respective security controls.
- Disconnect infected devices from the internet and local networks immediately to prevent the ransomware from spreading.
- Do not pay the ransom, paying does not guarantee file recovery and may encourage further attacks.
- Use reputable antivirus or anti-malware software to detect and remove the ransomware from your system.
- Restore files from clean backups if available, ensure backups are not connected to the infected network during restoration.
- Update all software, operating systems, and firmware to their latest versions to patch known vulnerabilities.
- Implement network segmentation to limit the spread of ransomware within your organization.
- Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential security gaps.
- Implement strict user access controls, granting permissions based on the principle of least privilege.
- Develop and regularly update an incident response plan to effectively respond to ransomware attacks.
- Monitor network traffic for unusual activity that may indicate a ransomware infection.
- Regularly back up critical data and store backups offline or in a secure, isolated environment.