NoEscape attacks The College of San Luis

Incident Date:

October 3, 2023

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Overview

Title

NoEscape attacks The College of San Luis

Victim

The College of San Luis (El Colegio de San Luis)

Attacker

Noescape

Location

San Luis Potosi, Mexico

San Luis Potosi, Mexico

First Reported

October 3, 2023

The NoEscape Ransomware Attack on The College of San Luis

The NoEscape ransomware gang has attacked The College of San Luis. The College of San Luis is a prestigious research and educational institution located in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Founded in 1992, it is known for its focus on the social sciences and humanities and its commitment to research, education, and cultural development. NoEscape posted The College of San Luis to its data leak site on October 3rd but provided no further details.

NoEscape: A Ransomware-as-a-Service Operation

NoEscape is a ransomware-as-a-service operation. The ransomware builder interface allows affiliates to customize various settings when creating the ransomware executables. However, the primary function of NoEscape is to encrypt files.

The Impact on Victims

Victims of NoEscape receive a note informing them that their network has been breached and infected by a group called NoEscape. The note reveals that all of their company documents, databases, and other crucial files have been encrypted. Additionally, the perpetrators have also obtained the victims' confidential documents, personal data, and sensitive information.

To regain access to their files, the victims are instructed to make a payment in exchange for a special recovery tool. Non-compliance with this demand will result in the victims' files remaining encrypted indefinitely, and the stolen information being offered for sale on the darknet.

Payment and Recovery Process

To facilitate the payment process, the victims are advised to download and install the TOR browser and access a specific link provided in the note. They must then enter their ID and follow the accompanying instructions. The note explicitly warns the victims against making any modifications or attempting file recovery on their own, emphasizing that only the perpetrators possess the ability to restore the encrypted files.

Recent Ransomware Attacks

The Recent Ransomware Attacks (RRA) site acts as a watchtower, providing you with near real-time ransomware tracking of attacks, groups and their victims. Given threat actors’ overarching, lucrative success so far, ransomware attacks have become the most ubiquitous, and financially and informationally impactful cyber threat to businesses and organizations today.

The site’s data is generated based on hosting choices of real-world threat actors, and a handful of other trackers. While sanitization efforts have been taken, we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of the data. Attack updates will be made as source data is reported by reputable sources. By viewing, accessing, or using RRA you acknowledge you are doing so at your own risk.