U.S. Government Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on Conti Ransomware Gang

The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced^[1]
a $10 million reward for information related to five individuals
associated with the Conti ransomware group.

The reward offer, first reported^[2]
by WIRED, is also notable for the fact that it marks the first time
the face of a Conti associate, known as “Target,” has been
unmasked. The four other associates have been referred to as
“Tramp,” “Dandis,” “Professor,” and “Reshaev.”

The government, besides seeking information about the five
operators that could lead to their identification or location, is
also calling on people to share details about Conti and its
affiliated groups TrickBot^[3]
and Wizard Spider^[4].

Since its rebrand from Ryuk to Conti, the transnational
organized crime group has been linked to hundreds of ransomware
incidents over the past two years.

As of January 2022, the Russia-based ransomware-as-a-service
(RaaS) operation is estimated to have hit over 1,000 entities, with
victim payouts exceeding $150 million. The State Department has
dubbed^[5]
Conti the “most damaging strain of ransomware ever documented.”

An analysis of the leaked chats^[6]
between Conti members in March 2022 that emerged after the
syndicate sided with Russia in the ongoing conflict between the
country and Ukraine highlighted Target’s role as a manager involved
in its physical operations in Russia.

“The leaks are of an unprecedented level and show the world how
a government backed, multimillion-dollar ransomware gang operates,”
Trellix researchers noted^[7]
in March 2022.

“In some fashion it was almost like a normal business; wages
needed to be paid, software licenses obtained, customer service
initiated, and strategic alliances had to be formed.”

Although the Conti brand has been terminated^[8], its members are still
active, continuing their work through other ransomware and data
extortion operations under different offshoots, including Karakurt^[9], Silent Ransom, Quantum, and
Roy/Zeon^[10].

The development also comes a little over three months after the
agency said it’s offering a reward^[11] of up to $10 million
for information leading to the identification and/or location of
individuals who hold key leadership positions in the Conti
team.