RansomExx Strikes Asteco Property Management: A Cyber Attack on UAE Real Estate Leader
Incident Date:
April 17, 2024
Overview
Title
RansomExx Strikes Asteco Property Management: A Cyber Attack on UAE Real Estate Leader
Victim
Asteco Property Management LLC
Attacker
Ransomexx
Location
First Reported
April 17, 2024
RansomExx Targets Asteco Property Management in Cyber Attack
Company Profile
Asteco Property Management has established itself as a leading full-service real estate firm in the United Arab Emirates. With a workforce of 91 employees, the company is noted for its significant contributions to the UAE's real estate landscape, providing high-quality, professional services. Asteco's reported revenues vary, with figures ranging from $11.9 million to $36 million, indicating its substantial role in the regional market.
Attack Overview
The RansomExx group, known for its aggressive ransomware campaigns, targeted Asteco's IT infrastructure, leading to the theft of 11.4 GB of data. The specifics of the stolen data have not been disclosed, but the complete dataset was published on RansomExx's dark web leak site, following their typical M.O. of double extortion.
Vulnerabilities
The real estate sector often holds large volumes of sensitive data, making it a lucrative target for ransomware attacks. Companies like Asteco, with substantial market presence and data on commercial and residential properties, are particularly vulnerable to such threats. The discrepancy in reported revenues and the diverse nature of its services might also contribute to varying levels of security across its digital assets, potentially creating exploitable gaps for cybercriminals.
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.