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Makop is a human-operated ransomware operation active since approximately 2020 and generally regarded as a variant or descendant of the Phobos ransomware family. It conducts opportunistic intrusions primarily through exposed Remote Desktop Protocol services, using password-guessing attacks against weak or reused credentials; operators also use internet-facing vulnerabilities and, in some cases, loaders to deliver ransomware payloads. Reported victims include organizations in India, Brazil, Germany, Italy, and South Korea. Makop operators typically stage tools for reconnaissance, port and network scanning, credential theft, local privilege escalation, security-product removal, lateral movement, and encryption. The group has used PsExec for remote execution and lateral movement; Mimikatz, LaZagne, NetPass, and custom credential-testing utilities for credential access; and network-discovery tools such as NetScan and Advanced IP Scanner. Its toolkit combines custom .NET utilities with legitimate administrative and dual-use software, including Process Hacker, PuTTY, and file-search utilities. Custom malware includes ARestore, which enumerates local accounts and tests password combinations, and PuffedUp, a persistence utility. Makop has used local Windows privilege-escalation vulnerabilities, disabled Microsoft Defender, and abused Process Hacker and similar utilities to terminate processes or remove security products. It has also employed bring-your-own-vulnerable-driver techniques to obtain kernel-level access and impair endpoint defenses. Makop-related ransomware activity has been associated with encryption and, through the Ndm448 Makop-family variant, data-theft-driven double extortion, including threats to leak stolen information. The operation appears financially motivated.
Mallory correlates actor tradecraft and target patterns against your stack, your sector, and your geography. See overlap before they land.
Who, where, and (when attributed) which flag flies behind the operation. Pulled from open-source reporting and Mallory's analyst review.
Geographies tied to known operations.
23 distinct techniques observed across reporting, grouped by tactic. Hover any cell for the evidence excerpt; click through for MITRE's full description.
6 malware families attributed to this actor across reporting.
1 additional family tracked in Mallory.
11 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Mentioned in passing as a ransomware operation that has run an affiliate program.
Mentioned as one of several ransomware families using PsExec and NirSoft; also referenced with exposed RDP as an initial access route.
Mentioned as another ransomware operation associated with abuse of the rwdrv.sys and hlpdrv.sys vulnerable drivers.
Referenced as a ransomware operation previously associated with BYOVD attacks using the same vulnerable drivers discussed in the article.
Match sector + geo + tech-stack targeting against your real footprint.
Every observed MITRE ATT&CK technique, grouped by tactic.
Families this actor is known to deploy, with IOCs and behavior.
CVEs this actor has used in known campaigns.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Domains, IPs, and hashes tied to this actor, refreshed continuously.