Threat Intelligence Tarot
Major Arcana · 19
Criminal (Russia-linked, RaaS)
G1006
risk 5/5
The Void
BlackCat / ALPHV
ALPHV · Noberus · GOLD BLAZER
HealthcareEnergyGovernmentCritical infrastructure
Active since ~2021 · Ransomware extortion, Data extortion, Triple extortion
Built in Rust, it encrypts Windows, Linux, and ESXi hosts with equal indifference. The Void is not personal - it is systematic. It chose Change Healthcare because Change Healthcare was everywhere, and when it encrypted, a third of US pharmacies went dark.
Tactics & Techniques
RCN
RDV
INI
EXC
PRS
PRV
EVA
CRD
DSC
LAT
COL
C2
EXF
IMP
T1486
Data Encrypted for Impact
Impact
T1190
Exploit Public-Facing Application
Initial Access
T1078
Valid Accounts
Persistence
T1567.002
Exfiltration to Cloud Storage
Exfiltration
T1134
Access Token Manipulation
Privilege Escalation
T1068
Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
Privilege Escalation
Notable Operations
  • Change Healthcare attack - disrupted US pharmacy systems nationwide (2024)
  • MGM Resorts (in partnership with Scattered Spider)
  • Written in Rust - cross-platform, Windows and Linux/ESXi variants
  • Largest healthcare ransom payment: $22M
Defenses
  • VMware ESXi and hypervisor hardening and patching
    CIS VMware Benchmark
  • Healthcare data segmentation and minimum-necessary access
    HIPAA Security Rule
  • Vulnerability management prioritizing internet-facing systems
    CIS Control 7
  • Cyber insurance and tested incident response retainer
    NIST CSF: RC
Reversed: Their Weakness
BlackCat collapsed after the $22M Change Healthcare ransom payment, when its operators allegedly exit-scammed their own affiliates - keeping the payment and shutting down the infrastructure, destroying trust in the brand permanently.

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Data sourced from MITRE ATT&CK. For educational purposes.