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Ransomware & Malware BleepingComputer 1 week ago

Ransomware recovery CEO charged over secret ransom payments

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CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: BleepingComputer
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Cloud & Distributed Infrastructure
Intelligence Sector
Ransomware & Malware

Analyst Takeaway

"The owner of ransomware remediation company MonsterCloud has been charged with allegedly defrauding ransomware victims by secretly paying their attackers for decryptors while claiming to use proprietary technology to recover encrypted data. Zohar Pinhasi, 50, also known as "Zack Silver" and "Zack Green," was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York on September 23 and..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Threat Monitoring: Ingest published IOCs into SIEM/EDR detection rules for continuous telemetry monitoring.
  • Security Awareness: Alert staff and maintain baseline endpoint hardening across endpoints.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)

Hand holding a key

The owner of ransomware remediation company MonsterCloud has been charged with allegedly defrauding ransomware victims by secretly paying their attackers for decryptors while claiming to use proprietary technology to recover encrypted data.

Zohar Pinhasi, 50, also known as "Zack Silver" and "Zack Green," was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York on September 23 and arraigned Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn.

He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud in connection with an alleged ransomware decryption scheme that prosecutors say ran from June 2018 to June 2023.

The U.S. Attorney's Office told BleepingComputer that Pinhasi surrendered Wednesday, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $2 million bond.

According to the indictment, Pinhasi owned and operated MonsterCloud LLC, a Florida-based ransomware remediation company that advertised tools and decryption techniques for recovering encrypted data without paying cybercriminals.

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Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from BleepingComputer.

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