Mazars Group allegedly breached by BlackCat cybercrooks

Mazars Group, an international audit, accounting, and consulting firm, was posted on the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware dark web blog, which criminals use to showcase their latest victims.

Russia-linked ransomware syndicate ALPHV/BlackCat claims to have stolen sensitive data from Mazars Group. A post on the gang’s dark web blog says that crooks took over 700 GB of data, including agreements, financial records, and other sensitive information.

Mazars Group is an international professional services provider headquartered in Paris, France. However, the company maintains a global presence, boasting staff exceeding 47,000 professionals and yearly revenue of over $2 billion.

We reached out to the company for comment but haven’t received a reply before publishing this article.

What is BlackCat ransomware?

ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware was first observed in 2021. Like many others in the criminal underworld, the group operates a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) business, selling malware subscriptions to criminals.

The gang was noted for its use of the Rust programming language. According to an analysis by Microsoft, threat actors that began deploying it were known to work with other prominent ransomware families such as Conti, LockBit, and REvil.

The FBI believes that money launderers for the ALPHV/BlackCat cartel are linked to Darkside and Blackmatter ransomware cartels, indicating that the group has a well-established network of operatives in the RaaS business.

Lately, ALPHV/BlackCat has been among the most active ransomware gangs. According to cybersecurity analyst ANOZR WAY, the group was responsible for approximately 12% of all attacks in 2022.