The group known as AlphV, or more commonly BlackCat, operates under a very business-oriented model of RaaS (Ransomware as a Service). In practice, they deploy attack tools capable of encrypting an entire victim’s network and then demand a ransom in return.
The group first rose to prominence in 2021 and quickly built an impressive track record, hitting major organizations in the defense, retail, and healthcare sectors.
As expected with a group this notorious, intelligence agencies launched a worldwide hunt for the operators and affiliates behind their activities. And when an operation of this scale is active, there’s always noise in the air. Their business partners (affiliates) send them cuts from every successful attack, and naturally, the more they expand, the more their risk grows.
That’s why, in March 2024, reports surfaced that one of BlackCat’s crypto wallets had been drained without their knowledge, suggesting the group itself had fallen victim to an attack.
The world of cyber gangs is a jungle. Rivals are everywhere, competing groups and law-enforcement agencies alike.
The pressure intensified, especially after the severe sentences handed down earlier this month to the affiliates of LockBit, another major ransomware competitor, who now face decades in prison.
The Pivot Point
Then something unusual happened.
The leader of AlphV posted a statement on the group’s forum announcing that they were shutting down operations and “retiring.” They claimed they had enough money for a long vacation — or, as we’d call it in Israeli slang, a “post-army trip.”
According to the post, the group’s source code would be sold for five million dollars, allowing the next buyer to modify it and continue the group’s grand legacy.
A few days later, a familiar message appeared on their site - the infamous banner the cyber world knows well: “The Domain Has Been Seized.”
The implication: law enforcement had taken them down, arrested them, and shut down their infrastructure.
Truth or Deception?
The FBI was stunned.
Despite being credited in the banner as the heroes who took down AlphV, they had no idea what the announcement was about. They checked with partner agencies that usually cooperate in operations of this scale — none of them knew anything either.
It turned out AlphV had socially engineered all of us, including law enforcement.
In the language of magicians, this tactic is called misdirection.
The group posted a fake seizure notice to throw investigators off their trail. The idea was simple: if everyone believes you’ve already been caught, they stop looking. Why chase something that doesn’t exist?
DarkSignal’s Closing Thoughts
For now, the group has gone quiet, retreating underground until the heat dies down.
Or, and this is only speculation, they may be preparing a full rebrand and planning stronger attacks than ever under a new name.
Who knows?