French Peugeot Dealership Hit by Cicada3301 Ransomware Attack

The ransomware group who has appropriated the name Cicada3301 has taken responsibility for a significant data breach involving Concession Peugeot, a notable car dealership in France associated with the Peugeot name. This breach, which reportedly compromised 35GB of confidential data, continues the group's aggressive ransomware activities.

Date of Breach Announcement:

The group publicized the breach on their dark web leak site on Sunday, December 15, 2024.

No Known Affiliation with Formerly Known Cicada3301:

Initially recognized for cryptographic challenges in the early 2010s, the Cicada3301 designation has since been appropriated by a ransomware faction using a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model.

Ransomware-as-a-Service Model:

This approach allows affiliates to access the ransomware platform, sharing profits from successful attacks with the group. Check Point's report from September 2024 highlights Cicada3301's advertisement for their RaaS offering on a Russian-language forum, with a 20% commission structure and built-in dispute resolution.

Technical Details:

Discovered by Truesec in June 2024, the Cicada3301 ransomware is written in Rust, capable of infecting both Windows and Linux/ESXi systems. It shares traits with ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware, including the use of ChaCha20 encryption and similar virtual machine shutdown commands.

Implications

The breach at Concession Peugeot underscores Cicada3301’s tactic of targeting prominent entities. The data exfiltrated, which includes official communications and personal documents such as passport copies, highlights severe security concerns.

Editor’s Insight

The breach has broader implications given that Concession Peugeot operates under the domain concessions.peugeot.fr, strongly linking it with the central Peugeot brand. While the attack explicitly affected the dealership, such subdomain usage might cause confusion or concern regarding the broader brand's security posture. Your awareness of this breach can help in understanding how ransomware threats continue to evolve and target high-profile organizations, potentially affecting brand trust and consumer security perceptions.