Premier Equities Hit by Meow Ransomware, 600GB Data Stolen
Incident Date:
August 2, 2024
Overview
Title
Premier Equities Hit by Meow Ransomware, 600GB Data Stolen
Victim
Premier Equities
Attacker
Meow
Location
First Reported
August 2, 2024
Premier Equities Falls Victim to Meow Ransomware Attack
Premier Equities, a privately held real estate investment and management company, has recently been targeted by the notorious Meow Ransomware group. The attack has resulted in the exfiltration of over 600 GB of sensitive data, including passport details of directors, personal correspondence, financial records, and employee data.
About Premier Equities
Founded in 2009 by Yaron Jacobi and Uzi Ben Abraham, Premier Equities specializes in retail and commercial office properties, particularly in prime neighborhoods of New York City. The company manages notable properties such as 1082 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side and several locations in SOHO, including 151 Wooster Street, 169 Mercer Street, and 390 West Broadway. Additionally, Premier Equities invests in multi-family and self-storage properties, with operations extending to the Midwest and Florida.
Premier Equities is recognized for its ability to optimize the value of individual and concentrated blocks of properties, swiftly execute transactions, and maintain strong relationships with partners and tenants. The company leverages over 100 years of combined experience from its executive team to focus on value-added, underperforming, and distressed assets.
Details of the Ransomware Attack
The Meow Ransomware group has demanded a ransom of $120,000 USD for a single payment or $50,000 USD if paid in multiple installments. The attackers claim to have exfiltrated more than 1 million files, posing significant risks to Premier Equities' operations and reputation. The breach of such extensive and confidential data underscores the vulnerabilities that real estate firms face in the digital age.
About Meow Ransomware Group
Meow Ransomware emerged in late 2022 and is associated with the Conti v2 ransomware variant. The group employs various infection methods, including phishing emails, exploit kits, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) vulnerabilities, and malvertising. Once a system is compromised, the ransomware encrypts files using a combination of the ChaCha20 and RSA-4096 algorithms.
Meow Ransomware is known for targeting industries with sensitive data, such as healthcare and medical research. The group maintains a data leak site where they list victims who have not paid the ransom. Security researchers have identified the threat actors behind Meow Ransomware as the "Anti-Russian Extortion Group," likely due to their targeting of entities in response to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Potential Vulnerabilities and Penetration Methods
Premier Equities, like many real estate firms, may have been vulnerable to ransomware attacks due to the extensive amount of sensitive data they handle. The company's focus on swift transactions and maintaining strong relationships with partners and tenants could have made them an attractive target for threat actors. The exact method of penetration in this case remains unclear, but common vectors include phishing emails and RDP vulnerabilities.
Sources
Recent Ransomware Attacks
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