RansomHub Ransomware Hits Garden Homes Management Corporation
Incident Date:
September 3, 2024
Overview
Title
RansomHub Ransomware Hits Garden Homes Management Corporation
Victim
Garden Homes Management Corporation
Attacker
Ransomhub
Location
First Reported
September 3, 2024
RansomHub Ransomware Attack on Garden Homes Management Corporation
Garden Homes Management Corporation, a prominent real estate investment, management, and development firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, has fallen victim to a ransomware attack orchestrated by the RansomHub group. The attack, which has been claimed on RansomHub's dark web leak site, potentially exposes sensitive information related to the company's operations and tenants.
About Garden Homes Management Corporation
Established in 1962, Garden Homes Management Corporation specializes in managing and developing a diverse portfolio of residential properties, including rental apartments and manufactured housing communities. The company operates across several states, such as Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Southern Vermont, and Southern New Hampshire. With a workforce of approximately 62 employees, the corporation focuses on providing affordable housing solutions, particularly through the management of subsidized rental housing for low-income families. Their modern approach to property management includes a "Contactless" leasing process, allowing potential tenants to explore housing options through virtual tours.
Attack Overview
RansomHub claims to have published the organization's database on their dark web portal, potentially exposing sensitive information related to Garden Homes Management Corporation's operations and tenants. The attack highlights the vulnerabilities that real estate companies face, particularly those managing extensive databases of tenant information and financial records. The exact method of penetration remains unclear, but it is likely that RansomHub exploited unpatched vulnerabilities or used phishing campaigns to gain initial access.
About RansomHub
RansomHub, a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) group, emerged in February 2024 and quickly established itself in the ransomware landscape. The group is known for its aggressive affiliate model and double extortion tactics, which involve encrypting victims' data and exfiltrating sensitive information for additional leverage in ransom demands. RansomHub's ransomware is optimized to encrypt large datasets quickly and targets a wide range of cross-platform systems, including Windows, Linux, and ESXi.
Distinguishing Features of RansomHub
RansomHub distinguishes itself with its speed and efficiency, using intermittent encryption to minimize encryption time while maintaining impact. The group employs Curve 25519 elliptic curve encryption to generate unique keys per victim and has a modular architecture that allows affiliates to update ransomware strains quickly to avoid detection. RansomHub's affiliates primarily use phishing campaigns, vulnerability exploitation, and password spraying to gain initial access, followed by network reconnaissance, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration before encrypting files.
Potential Penetration Methods
Given RansomHub's known tactics, it is plausible that the group exploited vulnerabilities in Garden Homes Management Corporation's systems, such as unpatched software or weak password policies. The use of phishing campaigns to trick employees into revealing credentials or clicking on malicious links could also have facilitated the initial breach. Once inside the network, RansomHub affiliates likely conducted multi-phase attacks involving network reconnaissance, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration before deploying the ransomware payload.
Recent Ransomware Attacks
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