According to global cybersecurity leader Palo Alto Networks, 94% of organizations across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, experienced an increase in cybersecurity attacks. Now, there is a new threat in the country and Palo Alto Networks warns us of BlackCat, a new ransomware attacking Philippine-based organizations in construction and engineering, retail, transportation, commercial services, insurance, machinery, professional services, telecommunications, auto components and pharmaceutical sectors.

Came into light mid-November 2021, BlackCat is a ransomware family coded in Rust programming language which has numerous native options and is highly customizable, making it easier for malware authors to pivot and individualize attacks. Ransomware attacks can be easily compiled against various operating system architectures of business.

Operating in a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) business model, BlackCat was found soliciting for affiliates in known cybercrime forums, offering to allow affiliates to leverage the ransomware and keep 80-90% of the ransom payment. The remainder would be paid to the BlackCat author.

With BlackCat's infamy, Palo Alto Network advises companies to secure their networks with the following products and services: Cortex XDR and Nxt-Generation Firewalls (including cloud-delivered security subscriptions such as WildFire).

For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.