DragonForce targets rivals in a play for dominance

DragonForce isn’t just one other ransomware model – it’s a destabilizing power attempting to reshape the ransomware panorama. Counter Risk Unit (CTU) researchers are actively monitoring the evolution of the menace posed by the group.

Enter the dragon

DragonForce is concerned in high-impact assaults focusing on each conventional IT infrastructure and virtualized environments (e.g., VMware ESXi), with a powerful emphasis on credential theft, Energetic Listing abuse, and knowledge exfiltration. In March 2025, it launched efforts to assert dominance within the ransomware ecosystem by introducing a extra versatile affiliate mannequin and focusing on different ransomware teams.

A collection of assaults on UK retailers that started in late April introduced this group into sharper focus as third-party stories linked these assaults to DragonForce and the GOLD HARVEST (often known as Scattered Spider) menace group. GOLD HARVEST regularly leverages social engineering, abuse of distant monitoring and administration (RMM) instruments, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) bypass strategies to achieve entry, steal bulk knowledge, and typically deploy ransomware.

When DragonForce emerged in August 2023, it provided a conventional RaaS scheme. On March 19, 2025, the group introduced a rebrand as a ‘cartel’ to increase its attain, hoping to emulate the success of LockBit and different mature ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) teams. In follow, it isn’t a cartel operation however an providing that offers associates the pliability to leverage DragonForce’s infrastructure and ransomware instruments whereas working beneath their very own manufacturers (see Determine 1).

Determine 1: Commercial for the DragonForce cartel. (Supply: Secureworks)

DragonForce didn’t simply revamp its enterprise mannequin; it started attacking rival operations. The ‘cartel’ put up coincided with defacements of leak websites operated by the BlackLock and Mamona ransomware teams. The defacements appeared to have been performed by DragonForce, as seen within the side-by-side display screen captures in Determine 2.

Determine 2: Defaced Mamona (left) and BlackLock (proper) leak websites. (Supply: Secureworks)

In April, a put up on the RansomHub leak website appeared to advertise the DragonForce cartel, as seen in Determine 3. A DragonForce put up on the RAMP underground discussion board additionally appeared to point that the teams have been working collectively, however the postscript steered that RansomHub won’t help the collaboration (see Determine 4). RansomHub is without doubt one of the most prolific teams to emerge following the LockBit disruption and ALPHV (often known as BlackCat) demise in 2024.

Determine 3: DragonForce cartel point out on RansomHub leak website. (Supply: Secureworks)

Determine 4: DragonForce put up suggesting a collaboration with RansomHub. (Supply: Secureworks)

Shortly after these posts, the RansomHub leak website went offline. The homepage displayed the message “RansomHub R.I.P 03/03/2025.” The “collaboration” between DragonForce and RansomHub seems to have been extra of a hostile takeover by DragonForce. The ‘koley’ persona, who is thought to be a outstanding RansomHub member, posted a defacement of the DragonForce homepage on RAMP (see Determine 5), together with the message “@dragonforce guess you’ve got traitors…” Extra posts by koley accused DragonForce of working with legislation enforcement, attacking rivals, and telling lies.

Determine 5: Defacement of the DragonForce leak website shared by RansomHub member ‘koley’. (Supply: Secureworks)

As of this publication, the DragonForce leak website is again on-line after an prolonged interval of down time. Throughout that interval, the homepage displayed a message stating that it will be up once more quickly, and an identical message seems on the RansomBay leak website (see Determine 6).

Determine 6: DragonForce and RansomBay leak website homepages as of Could 2, 2025. (Supply: Secureworks)

In Could 2025, UK retailer Marks and Spencer was the topic of a major cyberattack that was publicly attributed to GOLD HARVEST (referred to within the reporting as Scattered Spider), though this attribution has not been formally confirmed. This group is a loosely organized cybercriminal collective made up of particular person menace actors who collaborate via a shared community of underground boards and encrypted chat channels utilized by a neighborhood of like-minded people often known as “The Com.” The menace actors on this neighborhood coordinate malicious companies to conduct assaults, change instruments, and share techniques inside this decentralized ecosystem. GOLD HARVEST reportedly deployed the DragonForce ransomware on this assault.

GOLD HARVEST has been identified to function as a ransomware affiliate, deploying ALPHV ransomware in assaults on MGM Resorts in 2023 and reportedly utilizing RansomHub in assaults all through 2024. The menace actors make the most of a variety of techniques, strategies, and procedures (TTPs) of their assaults however are identified for his or her efficient use of social engineering. They typically acquire entry to organizations by focusing on IT assist desks. Public attribution of the Marks and Spencer assault could also be predicated on the idea that the assault began with social engineering, maybe focusing on assist desk employees.

Social engineering is a common menace throughout the cyber panorama and isn’t distinctive to GOLD HARVEST, though the group has been adept at utilizing this method through e-mail and phone calls. There’s rising interaction between social engineering and stolen credentials. GOLD HARVEST is identified to make use of commodity infostealers similar to Vidar and Raccoon, which acquire browser-saved passwords, cookies, and session tokens. These credentials can allow preliminary entry immediately or help extra convincing social engineering makes an attempt by permitting attackers to reference inner programs or mimic reputable worker conduct.

DragonForce has claimed two assaults impacting UK retailers. These assaults spotlight the necessity for vigilance by corporations within the retail sector. The interior warfare amongst ransomware teams is disruptive to their very own operations however doesn’t scale back threat to organizations. In actual fact, it could result in extra erratic, opportunistic assaults as teams scramble to claim dominance and monetize stolen knowledge in new methods. Organizations should subsequently revisit their incident response, menace intelligence, and third-party threat administration methods to stay resilient in an more and more chaotic menace surroundings.

Suggestions for defenders

Whereas technical controls stay important for detecting and mitigating GOLD HARVEST and DragonForce exercise, they have to be bolstered by sturdy inner processes and constant human vigilance. These assaults reinforce that technical compromises typically start with social compromise. Conversations are regularly the preliminary level of compromise, not exploits. Organizations should scale back their publicity to social engineering by combining technical controls with procedural self-discipline. CTU researchers suggest that organizations take the next actions to mitigate the dangers of those assaults:

Deploy browser isolation and password managers to stop harvesting of saved credentials.

Implement endpoint detection for infostealer exercise, together with credential and session cookie theft.

Make the most of an id monitoring resolution that makes use of darkish net sources and menace intel feeds to repeatedly monitor for compromised credentials.