CiphBit Ransomware
Under attack by ransomware or suffering a cyber breach?
Speed is critical when facing a live cyber attack. If you believe you’ve been compromised, by the CiphBit ransomware group or another threat actor - contact us immediately.
About CiphBit ransomware group
CiphBit is a financially motivated ransomware group that surfaced in mid-2023, known for targeting small to mid-sized businesses with highly customised attacks.
A CiphBit ransomware infection will initially encrypt local files and network shares, followed by a note demanding ransom payment, typically in bitcoin, for data recovery. Victims are urged not to pay, as doing so funds further cyber crime activity.
What we can help with:
- Encrypted files & ransomware data recovery
- Incident response and containment
- Secure data restoration and system recovery
- Use of ransomware decryption tools and data recovery software
- Development of incident response plans and disaster recovery solutions
- Post-incident reviews and security hardening
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If your organisation has been infected with ransomware contact us immediately.
How CiphBit operators work
CiphBit is an emerging ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group that first founded its operations in April 2023. Though relatively new, it has rapidly evolved into a notable company operating within the cyber crime ecosystem, offering services and tools to affiliate attackers. These affiliates launch targeted campaigns across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Manufacturing, Legal/Insurance, and even Therma Seal Insulation Systems.
One high-profile case includes a German telecommunications company, iptelecom GmbH, which reportedly fallen victim to a CiphBit ransomware breach, raising serious concerns about the increasing reach of such operations. Another example involves a German telecommunications company offering broadband and VoIP services that had sensitive details exposed online following a CiphBit ransomware breach.
The company’s infrastructure leverages advanced anonymisation tactics, like TOR and Telegram communication, often associated with Russian-speaking or Eastern European cyber groups. These techniques make attribution difficult, especially when AI-generated content and phishing tactics are used to initiate infection.
We are equipped to deal with an attack from any ransomware group.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are under attack from a ransomware group not listed above.
Recognising a CiphBit attack
CiphBit relies on double extortion, a growing trend where attackers exfiltrate data before encrypting files. Victims then face the threat of having their posts, documents, or internal records published on the group’s TOR-based leak site. The importance of understanding this tactic cannot be overstated, especially for organisations handling sensitive client details.
Since first being identified in mid-2023, CiphBit has been linked to 28 attacks, mostly affecting targets across the UK, Europe, and North America. Victims range from small law firms to mid-sized manufacturers. These incidents are happening people, and not just in theory – real companies, real damage.
Why you must not interfere with your ransomware environment
If you discover a physical break-in at your offices, your first instinct would be to call the police; touch nothing and let them search for clues. Then, your focus would shift to restoring business operations.
A cyber-attack requires the same approach. Your digital environment is a CRIME SCENE. It is crucial to leave the environment untouched to allow for a forensic investigation.
This is not a task for your IT team or MSP. Digital Forensic specialists are available 24/7 to assist you, just like in a physical crime.
| description | Sector | Date Discovered | Attack Date | Country | Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 10/02/2026 06:18 PM | 10/02/2026 06:18 PM | |||
| Other | 10/02/2026 04:47 PM | 10/02/2026 04:46 PM | |||
| Healthcare | 02/12/2025 01:11 AM | 02/12/2025 01:11 AM | PA | ||
| Other | 26/11/2025 02:12 PM | 26/11/2025 02:12 PM | US | ||
| Manufacturing | 28/10/2025 05:11 AM | 28/10/2025 05:11 AM | ES | ||
| Professional Services | 20/10/2025 01:42 PM | 20/10/2025 01:42 PM | GB | ||
| Agriculture and Food Production | 20/10/2025 01:41 PM | 20/10/2025 01:41 PM | FR | ||
| Manufacturing | 29/09/2025 02:40 PM | 29/09/2025 02:40 PM | DE | ||
| Professional Services | 24/09/2025 11:49 PM | 24/09/2025 11:49 PM | PT | ||
| Manufacturing | 24/09/2025 11:49 PM | 24/09/2025 11:49 PM | BR | ||
| Technology | 27/05/2025 02:48 PM | 27/05/2025 12:00 AM | DE | ||
| Manufacturing | 12/02/2025 07:17 PM | 12/02/2025 07:17 PM | US | ||
| Manufacturing | 01/01/2025 03:16 PM | 01/01/2025 03:16 PM | PT | ||
| Financial Services | 13/12/2024 05:53 PM | 13/12/2024 05:53 PM | PT | ||
| Energy & Utilities | 13/11/2024 04:46 PM | 13/11/2024 04:46 PM | FR | ||
| Professional Services | 04/10/2024 02:58 PM | 04/10/2024 02:58 PM | US | ||
| Professional Services | 28/09/2024 03:02 PM | 28/09/2024 03:02 PM | US | ||
| Professional Services | 21/08/2024 01:52 PM | 21/08/2024 01:52 PM | IT | ||
| Professional Services | 16/08/2024 08:58 PM | 16/08/2024 08:58 PM | IT | ||
| Technology | 15/08/2024 09:24 PM | 15/08/2024 09:24 PM | IT | ||
| Professional Services | 17/04/2024 02:34 PM | 17/04/2024 02:34 PM | US | ||
| Retail & E-Commerce | 09/04/2024 07:43 AM | 09/04/2024 07:43 AM | IT | ||
| Manufacturing | 06/04/2024 05:51 AM | 06/04/2024 05:51 AM | IT | ||
| Healthcare | 05/04/2024 04:22 AM | 05/04/2024 04:22 AM | US | ||
| Professional Services | 25/02/2024 07:18 PM | 25/02/2024 07:18 PM | US | ||
| Healthcare | 02/01/2024 01:08 AM | 02/01/2024 01:08 AM | US | ||
| Professional Services | 08/11/2023 12:57 AM | 08/11/2023 12:57 AM | FR | ||
| Government & Defense | 03/11/2023 11:34 PM | 03/11/2023 11:34 PM | |||
| Transportation | 16/09/2023 05:33 PM | 16/09/2023 05:33 PM | NL | ||
| Manufacturing | 16/09/2023 02:54 PM | 16/09/2023 02:54 PM | DE | ||
| Financial Services | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | |||
| Transportation | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | RO | ||
| Hospitality | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | |||
| Manufacturing | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | GB | ||
| Manufacturing | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | BE | ||
| Professional Services | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | 14/09/2023 04:00 PM | FR |
Known threat actors
Ransomware groups behind the attacks
Below is a breakdown of the most active ransomware groups and the variants driving their attacks.
Post breach actions
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Call a NCSC Cyber Incident Response approved supplier Some NCSC providers will fund up to 48 hours of investigation into your incident.
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Report the incident to Report Fraud
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Locate your business continuity plan Work out what you can do without access to your systems and data.
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Identify your business insurance contact details
Who are we and what experience do we have in responding to cyber incidents?
We are accredited to ISO 27001 and recognised by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
We provide comprehensive cyber risk management services, with a core focus on Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR). Our capabilities are driven by a 24/7 Security Operations Centre and a dedicated in-house intelligence team that delivers timely, actionable threat reporting.
With decades of collective cyber security experience, we have the expertise to assume operational ownership of your entire IT security architecture – simplifying and strengthening cyber security across your business.
As an Assured Service Provider for Cyber Incident Response (CIR) at the Standard Level. This accreditation demonstrates our ability to deliver high-assurance, effective support in response to a wide range of cyber threats.
Your NCSC-approved supplier is a specialist crime scene investigator who will:
- Isolate and preserve your environment for forensic investigation.
- Identify where the data has been duplicated and issue a legal takedown order.
- Identify your data, application and systems restore points. These might be at different points in time and will need to be carefully restored and reconstructed in a pristine environment.
- Liaise with your business insurance company and if needed, with the Police.
- Advise you on notifying your customers of your situation.
- Rebuild your systems, restore your data and get you back to full operation. Note: This process can take between 2 weeks – 2 months.
Working with us
Our response process
Our team are ransomware recovery specialists with a proven, streamlined approach to resolving incidents quickly and effectively.
Step 1: Triage
We deploy our incident response team the same day. From the first call, we begin onboarding, introduce key stakeholders, set communication schedules, and start gathering critical information to guide the response.
Step 2: Investigation
DFIR (Digital Forensic Incident Response) teams investigate breaches to identify vulnerabilities, attack vectors, and system impacts from ransomware such as Data Loss (PII). We deliver clear forensic insights to guide mitigation.
Step 3: Contain
Our onsite and remote teams act fast to stop the attack in its tracks. That includes isolating affected systems, removing malicious code, and putting protections in place to prevent further spread or damage.
Step 4: Remediate & Eradicate
Once contained, we work to fully eliminate the threat. This includes fixing exploited vulnerabilities, restoring systems to a secure state, and ensuring no traces of the attack remain.
Step 5: Recover
Our incident response teams help get your business back to normal. We restore access to systems, recover data, and ensure services are safe, stable, and functioning, with minimal downtime.
Step 6: Post Incident
We conduct a full review of the incident response and recovery efforts. Together we assess what happened, what worked, and what can be improved, helping you build stronger defences for the future.
Forensic analysis to drive recovery
Our process includes a thorough digital forensic analysis from step two where the output becomes a central component of business recovery. This is because understanding the attack is of critical importance:
Informing an initial infection date
The extent and spread of infection
Data exfiltration having an impact on regulatory positions
Ensuring that the attacker and any tooling or artefacts they leave behind are eradicated
It is critical that the analysis of digital evidence is carried out to an agreed plan.
Maximising early root cause discovery and legal leverage
The process is purpose-built to uncover the root cause as early as possible, which is essential to inform remediation / eradication and recovery as well as supporting a legal take-down case if this is applicable. A legal take-down means we can assist in the legal enforcement that stops the criminals from publishing the data, thus undermining the ransom notice.
Our Digital Forensic and Incident Response (DFIR) teams maintain consistent communication throughout. Dedicated Incident Managers and technical engineering leads provide updates during the Cyber Incident Response journey, utilising risk registers and working within change management processes, all from triage through to post-incident, delivering successful business recovery.
Key take aways
- You will not be able to access your systems or data.
- It is advised to disconnect from the internet and shut down your systems, including PCs, to prevent further infections.
- Your Office 365 system might also be compromised, allowing the attackers to monitor your responses. Avoid communicating with individuals through your primary email or team systems.
- Threat actors typically infiltrate your system at least 2-4 weeks before you become aware of the attack. Your data will have already been exfiltrated. If your system is encrypted, this was not an overnight event.
- Ransom demands in the UK typically range from £500,000 to £3 million, with some sectors, like education, facing demands that exceed £5 million
- Paying the ransom may violate financial sanctions, which is a criminal offence and could result in a custodial sentence or further financial penalties.
- If your data is sold or published online, it puts your customers and staff at risk, potentially implicating you in a Data Protection breach.
- You will need to submit a data takedown request to the initial location where the data was transferred.
- Do not overwrite the encrypted data. It is crucial to determine when the infection began and where the data was sent.
- Avoid rebuilding from the latest backup, as it is likely to be infected.
Why should I trust Zensec to do this work rather than my IT team?
A forensic analysis needs to be meticulous and a clean restore and recovery requires a wealth of experience not normally available in an in-house team who must provide a broader range of IT support skills:
Internal IT teams don’t have the necessary skill set to resolve security encryption issues themselves.
IT teams may recover to the same position with indicators of compromise ready to do it again… which can lead to another breach.
Internal teams are pressured to restore business operations and may recover before forensic analysis even begins, potentially destroying the crime scene before completion.
We can help
Frequently asked questions
Key information when you’re under pressure.
Yes, CiphBit operates a ransomware platform using the RaaS model. They allow affiliates to licence and customise payloads for specific victims, sometimes even tailoring their demands based on perceived ability to pay. Victims often miss early warning signs, such as phishing emails or malicious scripts, which makes reloading systems after an incident all the more difficult.
The average cost of ransomware breaches hover around £500K, while smaller email data breaches typically incur expenses of around £50K. A critical decision emerges between preserving the environment for forensic analysis or opting for swift recovery to minimise business disruption. Delays in identifying and resolving breaches only exacerbate costs.
Cyber security insurance claims entail a multifaceted process, encompassing reasonable expenditures for investigation and remediation, alongside coverage for legal, business interruption, criminal liability, employment liability, and ransom policies. While the insurance industry plays a pivotal role in facilitating business recovery, cyber insurance is perceived as volatile within the sector, and many policies require meticulous validation.
Facing genuine pressure, there's a crucial decision to make - one that could rescue your organisation from weeks of operational standstill, reputation damage, and client data loss. Yet, the probability of a favourable outcome remains slim, emphasising the importance of engaging a specialised ransomware incident response team. They are your most viable recourse for navigating a ransomware incident.
The NCSC have documented the deliberations for paying ransomware: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/ransomware/home
Important Reminder: It is a criminal offense to pay money to people who are subject to financial sanctions. The list of who is subject to financial sanctions is constantly changing.
The latest iteration can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-consolidated-list-of-targets
The NCSC is the UK National Cyber Security Centre. They provide cyber security guidance and support, helping to make the UK the safest place to live and work online. They have defined a Cyber Incident Response procedure and they have approved and accredited suppliers to provide this service.
As a recognised Assured Service Provider by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Zensec provide comprehensive cyber risk management services that are designed to Protect, Detect & Mitigate cyber security threats across the UK.
Report Fraud is the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Whether you have been scammed, defrauded, or experienced cybercrime in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, Report Fraud offers a central point of contact for information on fraud and financially motivated cybercrime.
https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
A ransomware attack presents the most significant threat to your business by:
- Disabling your access to systems, which could hinder machinery operation or impede progress through your business processes.
- Blocking access to critical data concerning suppliers, shipments, customers, orders, or steps in your business workflow.
In the event of a business interruption, identifying your position in the supply chain and sustaining operations can be challenging. If the disruption continues, maintaining business continuity becomes critical. Once systems and data are restored, addressing backlogs and establishing future operational protocols are essential.
Ransomware ranks only behind receivership in terms of its capacity to incapacitate a business.
Yes. There's a possibility that some of the lost data contains "Personal Data" belonging to your customers. Safeguarding such data is a legal requirement, so it's important to consider notifying the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) about this incident, as well as your customers. https://ico.org.uk/
Your insurer or legal counsel will provide guidance on the necessary steps and how to proceed in this matter. However, Zenzero has experience collaborating with insurers and legal representatives and can offer assistance in managing these relationships during this challenging period.
Dealing with a ransomware attack?
Our ransomware recovery service can help
Our expert team works quickly to contain the breach, recover your data, and restore your systems to full operation. We’ll guide you through every step of the recovery process and help strengthen your defences to prevent future attacks. Regain control with Zensec - trusted support when it matters most.

