Play Ransomware Strikes Fareri Associates: A Case Study
Incident Date:
July 4, 2024
Overview
Title
Play Ransomware Strikes Fareri Associates: A Case Study
Victim
Fareri Associates
Attacker
Play
Location
First Reported
July 4, 2024
Analysis of the Play Ransomware Attack on Fareri Associates
Company Profile: Fareri Associates
Fareri Associates, a prominent real estate development firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut, has been a significant player in the Northeastern U.S. real estate sector. Specializing in high-end residential, retail, and commercial projects, the company is known for its strategic development of properties that not only meet market demands but also enhance community value. Led by John Fareri, the company has carved a niche in developing properties that integrate seamlessly with local aesthetics and needs, particularly in Fairfield and Westchester counties.
Details of the Ransomware Attack
On July 5, 2024, Fareri Associates fell victim to a ransomware attack orchestrated by the Play ransomware group. The specifics of the data compromised during the attack have not been fully disclosed, but the incident was significant enough to warrant a public acknowledgment via the group's dark web leak site. This attack highlights potential vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure of even well-established firms in the real estate sector.
Profile of the Play Ransomware Group
The Play ransomware group, active since mid-2022, has targeted a wide array of industries across multiple continents. Known for its disruptive tactics, the group employs a variety of entry methods, including exploiting vulnerabilities in RDP servers, FortiOS, and Microsoft Exchange. Their approach often involves sophisticated techniques for maintaining persistence and escalating privileges within compromised networks, utilizing tools like Mimikatz, and disabling antimalware solutions to avoid detection.
Potential Vulnerabilities and Attack Vectors
Given the nature of Fareri Associates' business, which involves significant data regarding property transactions and personal client information, the firm is an attractive target for cybercriminals. The Play group could have potentially gained access through inadequately secured remote access points or by exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities in networked software solutions. The real estate sector often involves numerous third-party communications and data exchanges, increasing the risk of phishing attacks or other forms of social engineering used as initial access vectors.
Sources
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.