Ethical hackers contribute directly with decrypting tool for DoNex ransomware
Cybersecurity specialist Computest Security has become a partner of No More Ransom. This initiative, created by the National Police's High-Tech Crime Unit, the European Cybercrime Centre of Europol, Kaspersky, and McAfee, brings together law enforcement agencies and security companies to disrupt ransomware-focused cybercrime. In addition to raising awareness about ransomware, partners also work on solutions to undo encryption. The ethical hackers at Computest Security have already made a direct contribution to the collective with a decrypting tool for the DoNex ransomware.
The collaboration between public and private parties within No More Ransom brings valuable expertise together. Security parties have extensive knowledge of what happens to victims, while the police understand what is happening on the perpetrators' side. By combining these insights, they can act very effectively. One of the primary goals of No More Ransom is to help ransomware victims restore their encrypted data without paying the criminals.
Decrypting tool for DoNex
As a partner of No More Ransom, Computest Security has immediately demonstrated added value by developing a decrypting tool for the DoNex ransomware based on information from police investigations. This tool is published on the No More Ransom platformand helps victims decrypt their seized files and data. DoNex is particularly active in the Netherlands, the United States, and Italy, and is known for demanding large ransoms. The ransomware also has many similarities with the older DarkRace ransomware. The tool developed by Computest Security can also be used to regain access to files encrypted by this ransomware.
Dennis de Hoog, CEO of Computest Security, on the partnership with No More Ransom: “Besides our commercial activities, we believe it is important to make a societal contribution. We aim to help create more security awareness and ultimately improve the digital safety of the Netherlands. From this perspective, we are also part of the Melissa covenant, another public-private partnership aimed at combating ransomware attacks. By combining our strengths and delivering effective solutions, we can make the Netherlands a less attractive target for cybercriminals.”
- For a technical explanation of the decrypting tool, read the blog by Sector 7 (the research division of Computest Security).
