'Dumbass' criminal breaks the 'first rule of ransomware club'
A ransomware affiliate made a significant error by infecting a company in Uzbekistan, violating a key rule of their criminal operations. The ransomware group, Nova, issued an apology to the affected company, Eriell Group, and promised to assist in recovery. This incident highlights the risks and mistakes that can occur even within organized cybercrime.
- ▪The ransomware affiliate accidentally infected Eriell Group, a major oilfield services company in Uzbekistan.
- ▪Nova apologized and promised to help Eriell with recovery at no cost.
- ▪The affiliate has been banned from the criminal operation for this mistake.
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(function() { let windowUrl = window.location.href; windowUrl = windowUrl.substring(windowUrl.indexOf('?') + 1); let messageElement = document.querySelector('.shareableMessage'); if (windowUrl && windowUrl.includes('code') && windowUrl.includes('expires')) { messageElement.style.display = 'block'; } })(); cyber-crime 'Dumbass' criminal breaks the 'first rule of ransomware club' You don't infect anyone in Russia or other CIS countries Jessica Lyons Jessica Lyons Published tue 2 Jun 2026 // 22:58 UTC Even ransomware cartels make mistakes, and in this case, it was a biggie that could have landed the responsible crim in a Russian gulag: accidentally infecting a company located in a Commonwealth of Independent States country.In what threat-hunter Dominic Alvieri deemed the ransom “dumbass of…
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