The Gentlemen ransomware: Dissecting a self-propagating Go encryptor
2026-05-28T20:52:28Z•c45349e946deb85f53b4fd215b170b3873882f10cf130cabf6095365f0cc0d9c
AI chatbot abuseCI/CD secrets theftConfluenceF5 BIG-IPFox TempestGPU miningGoKerberos relayLinux intrusionMicrosoft .NET utilitiesMini Shai HuludSEO poisoningScreenConnectStorm-2697The Gentlemencredential theftcryptojackingidentity compromiselateral movementmalware-signing-as-a-servicenpm supply-chainper-file ephemeral key encryptionransomwareself-propagationsupply-chain compromise
What happened
Microsoft Threat Intelligence posts (May 2026) detailing multiple active, high-impact operations: The Gentlemen — a Go-based, self‑propagating ransomware used by Storm-2697 affiliates that combines per-file ephemeral key encryption with aggressive simultaneous lateral movement; a cryptojacking campaign using SEO poisoning, ScreenConnect, and .NET utilities to GPU-mine high-performance systems (malicious sites also surfaced via AI chatbots); a multi-stage Linux intrusion beginning with exposed F5 BIG‑IP and pivoting to an internal Confluence server for credential theft and attempted Kerberos‑re
Why it matters
A reviewed impact interpretation has not been published for this record.
Evidence and limitations
- Source ID
- microsoft_security_blog
- Record identifier
- c45349e946deb85f53b4fd215b170b3873882f10cf130cabf6095365f0cc0d9c
- Enrichment time
- 2026-05-28T20:52:28Z
- AI-assisted enrichment
- Yes
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