The Gentlemen Ransomware With Custom EDR/AV Killers Scaling Faster to Attack Industries Worldwide

The Gentlemen is one of the most rapidly escalating ransomware threats observed in 2026. Emerging in mid-2025 from a payment dispute within the Qilin RaaS program, the group has evolved into a full-spectrum, human-operated Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operation that Microsoft tracks as Storm-2697.

Within its first year of independent operation, The Gentlemen has claimed over 500 victims across 70+ countries, accounting for approximately 10% of all global ransomware activity in April 2026.

What sets this group apart is not scale alone it is their operator-maintained EDR/AV killer infrastructure, marketed directly to affiliates under the in-house framework named GentleKiller, comprising at least eight distinct BYOVD (Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver) variants capable of terminating over 400 security processes across 48 vendors.

The gang also integrates third-party EDR killers HexKiller, ThrottleBlood, and HavocKiller into a standardized, modular evasion suite. Coupled with a Go-based, self-propagating worm encryptor using hybrid Curve25519/XChaCha20 cryptography, The Gentlemen represents a Tier-1 threat to manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and critical operational technology environments worldwide.

A significant intelligence windfall arrived in May 2026, when an internal backend database (“Rocket”) used by the group was leaked, exposing 3,366 internal chat messages, operator identities, victim lists (1,570+ confirmed), ransom negotiation transcripts, and the full toolchain.

At Cybersecuritynews, we synthesize published intelligence from the leak, ESET Research, Microsoft Threat Intelligence, Check Point Research, Trend Micro, and Huntress to deliver a comprehensive, defender-grade briefing.

Threat Actor Profile

Identity and Origin

The Gentlemen was founded by an operator using the alias hastalamuerte (also known as zeta88 and tracked by PRODAFT as LARVA-368). This individual was previously an affiliate crew leader within the Qilin RaaS program before launching The Gentlemen as an independent operation following a payment dispute in July 2025. The operator is described as Russian-speaking and maintains hands-on involvement in attacks in addition to managing the RaaS platform.

The group operates under a strict CIS exclusion policy targeting organizations globally but programmatically excluding victims in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, consistent with Russian-nexus threat actor norms.

Organizational Structure

Analysis of the leaked Rocket.Chat database reveals a tightly organized core of approximately 9 named operators and at least 8 distinct affiliate TOX IDs. The organizational structure is as follows:

Alias	Role
zeta88 / hastalamuerte	Administrator builds locker, runs RaaS panel, distributes targets, manages payouts
qbit	Hands-on operator Fortinet scanning, NTLM relay, AD recon, EDR killer deployment
quant	Log-based access, credential harvesting, OxideHarvest/buildx641 tool maintainer
Wick, mAst3r, Protagor	Red-teamers, advertising partners, case-specific collaborators
Bl0ck, JeLLy, Kunder, Mamba	Access brokers, support roles

The administrator actively uses AI-assisted development, referencing DeepSeek, Qwen, and Kimi for coding assistance and panel development. The Gentlemen GLOCKER admin panel was reportedly built in three days using AI-assisted coding.

• Affiliate revenue split: 90% to affiliates, 10% to operators among the most generous in the ransomware ecosystem
• Affiliate recruitment: Active on RAMP and BreachForums underground forums; invites penetration testers and initial access brokers
• Partnership: Established an official BreachForums partnership in 2025 to expand the affiliate pool
• Extortion model: Double extortion encryption plus data exfiltration
• Ransom range: ~$250,000 initial demands; $190,000 settlements observed in leaked transcripts
• Leak site: Tor-based dedicated leak site (DLS) with branded X/Twitter account for additional public pressure

Attack Chain: Step-by-Step Lifecycle

Phase 1: Initial Access

The Gentlemen does not rely on phishing for initial access. Instead, affiliates systematically target internet-facing edge infrastructure, primarily FortiGate VPN appliances, Cisco ASA devices, and SonicWall appliances. The group maintained an active inventory of approximately 14,700 compromised FortiGate devices and 900+ validated brute-forced FortiGate VPN credentials ready for affiliate use.

Branding credentials observed in leaked data include: gentlemen25, Gentlemen25, gentle26.

Secondary access vectors include:

• Infostealer-sourced credentials from underground marketplaces
• Exploitation of exposed OWA/O365 portals using log-based credential tools (quant‘s log parser)
• Access brokers supplying pre-compromised enterprise footholds (“поставщик ботов”)

Phase 2: Reconnaissance and Privilege Escalation

After achieving initial foothold, operators perform extensive internal reconnaissance using a custom offensive toolkit:

• NetExec (NXC): Multi-purpose AD, SMB, WinRM offensive framework
• RelayKing-Depth: NTLM relay scanning and exploitation
• TaskHound: Task and privilege abuse
• PrivHound: Local privilege escalation path discovery
• CertiHound: Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) misconfiguration enumeration (ESC1–ESC17)
• gogo.exe: Port scanner for exposed services
• Advanced IP Scanner / Nmap: Network mapping (observed in Mackay Sugar incident)
• KslDump / KslKatz: Kerberos/LSASS credential dumping

The group specifically targets domain administrator credentials and abuses Group Policy Objects (GPOs) for domain-wide compromise.

Phase 3: Defense Evasion (EDR/AV Killing)

This is the defining characteristic of The Gentlemen. Operators deploy their centralized GentleKiller suite before encryption begins. Tools are staged in a directory named GentlemenCollection on the target system.

The BYOVD technique works as follows:

1. Drop a signed-but-vulnerable kernel driver to disk
2. Load the driver as a Windows service via sc create / sc start
3. Send IOCTLs to the driver from user space, reaching Ring-0 (kernel) privilege
4. Enumerate and kill all target security processes overcoming user-mode tamper protection

GentleKiller variants (8 known, each impersonating a different product):

Variant Name	Fake Filename	Abused Driver	ESET Detection
Kaspersky	Kasp<suffix>.exe	eb.sys (custom rootkit PoC)	Win64/KillAV.EA
FACEIT Anti-Cheat	FaceIT<suffix>.exe	nseckrnl.sys (NSecsoft NSecKrnl)	Win64/KillAV.EA
Valorant	Valorant<suffix>.exe	GameDriverX64.sys / vgk.sys (Tower of Fantasy anti-cheat)	Win64/KillAV.EA
Javelin	EAAntiCheat<suffix>.exe, EASolo<suffix>.exe	stpm_old.sys, stpm_new.sys (Safetica Process Monitor)	Win64/KillAV.EA
WatchDog	BitD<suffix>.exe	dmx.sys (Zemana WatchDog Antimalware)	Win64/KillAV.EA
Network Blocker	MB<suffix>.exe	360netmon_wfp.sys (Qihoo 360)	Win64/KillAV.EA
Cleaner	Deletor.exe	IMFForceDelete (IObit IMF ForceDelete)	Win64/KillAV.EA
G11	G11<suffix>.exe, Symantec<suffix>.exe	G11.sys / PoisonX (rootkit PoC)	Win64/KillAV.EA

Third-party EDR killers integrated into the suite:

ESET Name	Fake Filename	Abused Driver	Notes
HexKiller	Avast<suffix>.exe	googleApiUtil64.sys (Baidu Antivirus BdApi)	Previously attributed to Warlock gang
ThrottleBlood	Sent<suffix>.exe	ThrottleBlood.sys (TechPowerUp LLC ThrottleStop)	Also seen in MedusaLocker, DragonForce
HavocKiller	HwAudKiller.exe, Sophos<suffix>.exe	havoc.sys (Huawei Audio Driver)	Active since Jan 2026, disclosed by Huntress Mar 2026

Additional evasion tools from leaked toolchain:

• EDRStartupHinder blocks/delays EDR processes at startup
• gfreeze EDR process freezing
• glinker EDR evasion companion to gfreeze
• DumpBrowserSecrets browser cookie/session harvesting
• ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) patching and zerosalarium techniques
• Titanis Windows ETW/logging manipulation framework

Binary protection and impersonation strategy applied uniformly to all EDR killers:

Filename Suffix	Protection	Fake Signature	Fake Version Info
1	Enigma	Yes	Yes
2	Themida	Yes	Yes
Light	None	Yes	Yes
Clear	None	No	No

Phase 4: Lateral Movement and Persistence

The Gentlemen ransomware’s self-propagation (--spread) module attempts 21 independent remote execution techniques per target host, making it worm-like in behavior:

• 5.1 Remote file copy over C$ administrative share
• 5.2 PsExec-based remote execution (embedded PsExec binary or downloaded from Sysinternals Live)
• 5.3 WMIC process creation (wmic /node:<target> process call create)
• 5.4 Scheduled tasks (user context) DefU, UpdateGU, UpdateGU2
• 5.5 Scheduled tasks (SYSTEM context) same tasks elevated
• 5.6 Windows Services DefSvc, UpdateSvc, UpdateSvc2
• 5.7 PowerShell Remoting via Invoke-Command (WinRM)
• 5.8 PowerShell WMI (Invoke-WmiMethod) as alternative to wmic.exe

For persistence, the encryptor establishes two layers:

• Scheduled tasks: UpdateSystem (SYSTEM context) and UpdateUser (current user context)
• Registry Run keys: GupdateS under HKLM...Run and GupdateU under HKCU...Run

Additional persistence observed: AnyDesk remote access software, Cloudflare Zero Trust tunnels, SystemBC SOCKS5 proxy.

C2 Framework: Velociraptor (used as covert C2), ZeroPulse, Cloudflare tunnels

Lateral movement tools: PsExec, PuTTY (observed in Mackay Sugar incident), WinSCP (for data exfiltration via encrypted channels)

Phase 5: Data Exfiltration (Pre-Encryption)

Exfiltration volumes of hundreds of gigabytes to multiple terabytes per victim are typical. The group uses WinSCP for encrypted file transfer and quant‘s custom credential/data collector (buildx641/OxideHarvest) which leverages:

• vssadmin shadow copies
• ntds.dit extraction
• SYSTEM hive copies
• MANSPIDER for sensitive file share hunting

Data from prior compromises is actively reused to facilitate new attacks a UK consultancy breach was leveraged to gain access to a Turkish company, with stolen internal documents used for cross-target enrichment.

Phase 6: Encryption and Impact

Encryption Technology

The encryptor is written in Go and obfuscated with Garble, targeting Windows, Linux, NAS, BSD, and ESXi platforms:

• Cryptographic scheme: Hybrid Curve25519 + XChaCha20
• Key design: Per-file ephemeral Curve25519 key pair; ECDH shared secret used as XChaCha20 key
• Nonce: First 24 bytes of the ephemeral public key; XOR-mutated per chunk for large files
• Encrypted file extension: .umc16h (also .7mtzhh observed in some samples)
• Execution requires a build-specific --password argument as an anti-analysis measure

Encryption Speed Modes

CLI Argument	Per-Chunk %	Total Encrypted (Large Files)
(default)	9%	~27%
--fast	3%	~9%
--superfast	1%	~3%
--ultrafast	0.3%	~0.9%

Small files (≤1 MB) are fully encrypted regardless of speed mode.

Post-Encryption Actions

The malware creates a scheduled task (gentlemen_system) to relaunch itself as SYSTEM for encrypting local drives.

• Ransom note: README-GENTLEMEN.txt dropped in every traversed directory
• Desktop wallpaper: %TEMP%gentlemen.bmp set as wallpaper
• Shadow copy deletion: vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet and wmic shadowcopy delete
• Event log clearing: wevtutil cl System, wevtutil cl Application, wevtutil cl Security
• Prefetch deletion, Defender log wipe, RDP log wipe, PowerShell history removal
• Free space wiping (--wipe): Overwrites all unallocated disk space with random data
• Self-delete (unless --keep flag): Removes encryptor binary post-execution

Network Share Discovery

When run with --shares, the encryptor enables Windows network discovery services (fdrespub, fdPHost, SSDPSRV, upnphost) and removes firewall restrictions to maximize reachable encryption targets.

Known Infection Vectors

Vector	Mechanism	CVE/Tool	Confidence
FortiGate VPN exploitation	Authentication bypass in FortiOS/FortiProxy management interface	CVE-2024-55591	High 81 mentions in leaked chat logs; 14,700+ compromised devices tracked
Erlang SSH / Cisco RCE	Remote code execution on Cisco and Erlang-based SSH services	CVE-2025-32433	High PoC shared and evaluated in internal Rocket.Chat logs
NTLM Relay	Internal credential relay for privilege escalation post-initial access	CVE-2025-33073	High RelayKing integrated into standard recon workflow
FortiGate VPN brute-force	Credential stuffing/brute-force of VPN web panels	~900+ validated credentials in active use	High
Infostealer credentials	Purchased from underground markets; OWA/O365 portal abuse	N/A	High
Access brokers	Pre-compromised Fortinet VPN access purchased from “Mamba” and other brokers	N/A	High
SonicWall VPN, Cisco ASA, Oracle EBS	Active reconnaissance and exploit development noted	Under research by group	Medium
BYOVD kernel driver exploit	CVE-2025-7771 ThrottleStop.sys driver for kernel code execution	CVE-2025-7771	Medium

Common Vulnerabilities Exploited

CVE	Product	Vulnerability Type	CVSS	Status
CVE-2024-55591	Fortinet FortiOS / FortiProxy	Authentication bypass in management interface enables unauthenticated super-admin access	Critical	Patch available widely unpatched
CVE-2025-32433	Erlang/OTP SSH (Cisco context)	Pre-authentication remote code execution	Critical	PoC actively evaluated by operators
CVE-2025-33073	Windows NTLM	NTLM reflection/relay privilege escalation	High	Actively scanned using RelayKing
CVE-2025-7771	TechPowerUp ThrottleStop.sys	Kernel code execution via vulnerable driver (BYOVD)	High	Integrated as ThrottleBlood.sys
CVE-2023-27532	Veeam Backup & Replication	Missing authentication targeted for backup destruction	Critical	Patching recommended
CVE-2024-37085	VMware ESXi	Authentication bypass ESXi locker deployment vector	High	Patching recommended
Multiple ADCS flaws	Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services	ESC1–ESC17 misconfigurations (CertiHound)	Variable	Enumerated post-compromise

Known Tools Used

Full Toolchain Reference

Category	Tool	Purpose
EDR Killing (In-House)	GentleKiller (8 variants)	BYOVD kernel-level security process termination (400+ processes, 48 vendors)
EDR Killing (Third-Party)	HexKiller	BYOVD EDR killer (Baidu BdApi driver)
EDR Killing (Third-Party)	ThrottleBlood	BYOVD EDR killer (ThrottleStop.sys driver)
EDR Killing (Third-Party)	HavocKiller	BYOVD EDR killer (Huawei Audio driver)
EDR Evasion	EDRStartupHinder	Blocks/delays EDR processes at startup
EDR Evasion	gfreeze	EDR process freezing utility
EDR Evasion	glinker	EDR evasion companion tool
Credential Theft	OxideHarvest (buildx641.exe)	Rust-based credential stealer; harvests browsers, LSASS, NTDS
Credential Theft	DumpBrowserSecrets	Browser cookie and session token harvester
Credential Theft	KslDump / KslKatz	Kerberos / LSASS credential dumping
Credential Theft	Mimikatz	Credential extraction (operator referenced in multiple incidents)
AD Recon	NetExec (NXC)	SMB, AD, WinRM, LDAP offensive framework
AD Recon	RelayKing-Depth	NTLM relay path discovery and exploitation
AD Recon	CertiHound	ADCS misconfiguration enumeration (ESC1–ESC17)
Privilege Escalation	PrivHound	Local privilege escalation path finder
Privilege Escalation	TaskHound	Task and privilege abuse
Privilege Escalation	RegPwn	Registry-based service privilege escalation
Lateral Movement	PsExec	Remote execution; embedded in ransomware binary
Lateral Movement	WinSCP	Encrypted data exfiltration
Lateral Movement	MANSPIDER	Sensitive file share hunting
C2 / Remote Access	Velociraptor	Covert C2 with LSASS/memory collection
C2 / Remote Access	ZeroPulse	Remote access framework
C2 / Remote Access	AnyDesk	Persistent remote access
C2 / Remote Access	SystemBC	SOCKS5 proxy for covert C2 tunneling
C2 / Remote Access	Cloudflare Zero Trust / Tunnels	Covert HTTPS tunneling into victim networks
C2 / Remote Access	Cobalt Strike	Beacon-based C2 framework
Infrastructure	gogo.exe	Port scanner for initial surface discovery
ETW Evasion	Titanis	Windows ETW/logging manipulation
ETW Evasion	zerosalarium	ETW and log-based EDR kill research/techniques
OSINT	Sputnik (browser extension)	OSINT aggregation for target enrichment
Password Cracking	chamd5.org / hashcracking_bot	Online hash cracking services
VPN Infrastructure	WireGuard, OpenVPN, Double-VPN	Operator-side VPN for operational security
GPO Deployment	Group Policy Management / Editor	Domain-wide ransomware deployment via NETLOGON

Targeted Industries and Victimology

Industries by Victim Count (Top 5)

Rank	Industry	Victim Count
1	Manufacturing	101
2	Business Services	66
3	Technology	65
4	Healthcare	50
5	Consumer Services	44

Additional targeted sectors include: Construction, Education, Transportation, Financial Services, Insurance, Agri-Industrial (food production/sugar processing), Pharmaceuticals, and Critical Infrastructure (OT/ICS environments).

Geographic Focus (Top 5 Countries)

Rank	Country	Victim Count
1	United States	87
2	Thailand	37
3	France	28
4	Germany	24
5	Australia	~20 (estimated 4th most targeted per CheckPoint)

The Gentlemen is notable for its non-US-centric victimology; unlike most top-tier ransomware gangs, it maintains heavy focus on Southeast Asia, South America, and Western Europe. Targeting decisions are made primarily based on FortiGate device misconfiguration rather than geographic location.

Notable Attack: Mackay Sugar (June 2026)

In June 2026, The Gentlemen claimed responsibility for a ransomware attack on Mackay Sugar, Australia’s second-largest raw sugar producer. The attack shut down operations at the Farleigh and Racecourse mills for over a week, disrupting cane haulage and affecting 1,300+ family-owned farms.

The attack was executed via the NETLOGON share for payload deployment, with double-extortion threatening to release stolen data within 10 days.

Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)

File Hashes

Ransomware Encryptors

SHA-256 / SHA-1 Hash	Filename	Platform	Description	Source
22b38dad7da097ea03aa28d0614164cd25fafeb1383dbc15047e34c8050f6f67	ransomware binary	Windows	Windows encryptor (primary analyzed sample)	Microsoft
078163d5c16f64caa5a14784323fd51451b8c831c73396b967b4e35e6879937b	psexec.exe	Windows	PsExec binary embedded in encryptor	Microsoft
fe1033335a045c696c900d435119d210361966e2fb5cd1ba3382608cfa2c8e68	gentlemen.bmp	Windows	Post-encryption desktop wallpaper bitmap	Microsoft
f918535f974591ef031bd0f30a8171e3da27a6754e6426a8ba095f83195661c8	G_hlm7jj_windows_amd64.exe	Windows	Encryptor (second Huntress-observed incident)	Huntress
1eece1e1ba4b96e6c784729f0608ad2939cfb67bc4236dfababbe1d09268960c	Linux locker	Linux	Linux/NAS encryptor variant	Decryption Digest
c12c4d58541cc4f75ae19b65295a52c559570054	Ransom.Win64.GENTLEMAN	Windows	Trend Micro signature Mackay Sugar incident	Rescana/Trend

GentleKiller EDR Killer Suite (SHA-1 Hashes)

SHA-1	Filename	ESET Detection	Description
8AE6BD18B129061F63642531F1B684CF0383C75D	Kasps.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Kaspersky variant
BA914FE77B177B45799403B16DD14765C510A074	eb.sys	Win64/Agent.ITG	Custom rootkit Kaspersky variant driver
D605994FC72A2BB59B5CFB1624A1B9170ECA73A2	FaceIT1.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller FACEIT variant (Enigma-protected)
B0B912A3FD1C05D72080848EC4C92880004021A1	nseckrnl.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.NSecsoft.A	NSecKrnl driver FACEIT variant
5AA3124E5C4921E5EDFC60133B5D71DA21B07DA3	Valorant2.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Valorant variant (Themida-protected)
7556AE58C215B8245A43F764F0676C7A8F0FDD1A	vgk.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.PerfectWorld.A	Anti-cheat driver Valorant variant
331879F5EEC8892BBD896F90BDBB1BAD0BF63BD6	EASolo2Light.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Javelin variant (newer Safetica driver)
F11AEBCCB9A86A7E2E653F90BAEC697F233C255F	EASOLO1clear.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Javelin variant (older Safetica driver)
EF9CD06683159397F099CAA244E94E6EAAD96EBA	EAAntiCheatLight.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Javelin variant (both Safetica drivers)
711EF221526997039E804A18DB9647C91680BBE2	stpm_old.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.Safetica.A	Safetica Process Monitor Driver (older)
68FEC379F2AE76C3D2CE913F7BE650CEA1D06990	stpm_new.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.Safetica.H	Safetica Process Monitor Driver (newer)
A11EE9CDC59E5CAA59AEFD27B30D104F3AD68E62	BitD1.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller WatchDog variant (Themida-protected)
96F0DBF52AED0AFD43E44500116B04B674F7358E	dmx.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.WatchDogDev.C	Zemana WatchDog Antimalware Driver
2F86898528C6CAB3540C486A9BFAA0C029B73950	MB2.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Network Blocker variant (Themida-protected)
9AD51AD97C01E97AB59214116740785E0F6320A8	360netmon_wfp.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.Qihoo360.A	Qihoo 360 driver Network Blocker variant
A19117175DBC9BA4D23B5DCE8415E299A2E32192	Deletor.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller Cleaner variant
12500F6C87CE62712A0ED6652C57468D15C14223	IMFForceDelete	Win64/VulnDriver.IObit.D.gen	IObit IMF ForceDelete driver Cleaner variant
D29670E684E40DDC89B47010C37CBC96737035B6	Symantec.exe	Win64/KillAV.EA	GentleKiller G11 variant
56BEE9DF5833A637F5C54D5911DF98B0812FE643	G11.sys	Win64/Agent.IYQ	PoisonX rootkit G11 variant

Third-Party EDR Killers (SHA-1 Hashes)

SHA-1	Filename	ESET Detection	Description
CF4D74DF17A91B4A36A2911B22AFEC5D8FA93A01	Avast.exe	Win32/KillAV.NVL	HexKiller (Gentlemen evasion layer applied)
EC296F9501AD71E430810CB5CDC38D954D4BA536	googleApiUtil64.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.Baidu.B	Baidu Antivirus BdApi driver HexKiller
7131B377E96016DC1911020C9F95B1B4D042D7B4	Sent.exe	Win64/KillAV.AT	ThrottleBlood (Gentlemen evasion layer applied)
82ED942A52CDCF120A8919730E00BA37619661A3	ThrottleBlood.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.GPUZ.B	ThrottleStop.sys vulnerable driver ThrottleBlood
F0537CBB773AE12100B36731E7C39F5A9D852B14	Sophos.exe	Win64/KillAV.DE	HavocKiller (Gentlemen evasion layer applied)
1FA071303FB846308571E64727501FB98B1C2BE6	havoc.sys	Win64/VulnDriver.Huawei.D	Huawei Audio vulnerable driver HavocKiller

Credential Stealer (OxideHarvest)

SHA-1	Filename	ESET Detection	Description
A5CF917EC4A7DFBDFA43621398604805D860C718	buildx641.exe	Win64/Spy.Agent.AGC	OxideHarvest credential stealer (quant’s tool)
D4B19141102015D436321E6F26976E98183CFD27	buildx64.exe	Win64/Spy.Agent.AGC	OxideHarvest credential stealer (alternate build)

Additional Hashes (Trend Micro / Mackay Sugar Incident)

SHA-1	Detection Name	Description
c12c4d58541cc4f75ae19b65295a52c559570054	Ransom.Win64.GENTLEMAN.THHAIBE	Gentlemen Windows encryptor
c0979ec20b87084317d1bfa50405f7149c3b5c5f	Trojan.Win64.KILLAV.THHBHBE	EDR killer tool
df249727c12741ca176d5f1ccba3ce188a546d28	Trojan.Win64.KILLAV.THHBHBE	EDR killer tool
e00293ce0eb534874efd615ae590cf6aa3858ba4	HackTool.Win32.PowerRun.THHBHBE	Privilege escalation tool (PowerRun.exe)

Network Indicators

Indicator	Type	Description	Source
193.233.202[.]17	C2 IP	SOCKS proxy C2 svchost32.exe beacon on port 44729	Huntress
77.110.122[.]137	C2 IP	Alternative SOCKS proxy C2 port 37182	Huntress
45[.]86[.]230[.]112	C2 IP	Pre-ransomware staging host Gentlemen affiliate infrastructure	HivePro
Cloudflare WARP tunnels	Tunnel indicator	Outbound Cloudflare WARP tunnel from non-IT endpoints (pre-encryption staging)	Decryption Digest

File System and Host-Based Indicators

Indicator	Type	Description
.umc16h	File extension	Primary encrypted file extension
.7mtzhh	File extension	Alternate encrypted file extension observed in some campaigns
.fjn1jw	File extension	Alternate extension (observed in Huntress shipping/transport incident)
README-GENTLEMEN.txt	Ransom note filename	Dropped in every traversed directory
gentlemen.bmp	Wallpaper artifact	Desktop wallpaper deployed post-encryption (%TEMP%gentlemen.bmp)
gentlemen_system	Scheduled task name	SYSTEM-privilege scheduled task for local encryption
UpdateSystem	Scheduled task name	Persistence scheduled task (SYSTEM context)
UpdateUser	Scheduled task name	Persistence scheduled task (user context)
WindowsConnSvc	Scheduled task name	SOCKS proxy persistence task (svchost32.exe C2 beacon)
GupdateS	Registry Run key value	HKLM...RunGupdateS system-wide persistence
GupdateU	Registry Run key value	HKCU...RunGupdateU user-scope persistence
LOCKER_BACKGROUND=1	Environment variable	Set when ransomware runs as background encryption worker
C:Temppsexec.exe	Drop path	PsExec dropped for lateral movement
C:Tempshare$	Hidden SMB share	Created for remote payload distribution
C:Tempwipefile.tmp	Wipe artifact	Temporary file used for free-space wiping
<malware_path>.bat	Self-delete script	Batch script for post-encryption self-deletion
GentlemenCollection	Staging directory	Directory where EDR killer suite is staged
svchost32.exe	Malicious process	SOCKS proxy beacon disguised as Windows system process
WIN-8OA3CCQAE4D	Workstation name	Observed malicious workstation (Huntress May 2026 incident)

YARA Detection Rule

The following YARA rule from Check Point Research detects the The Gentlemen locker binary:

textrule thegentlemen_ransomware {
  meta:
    author = "@Tera0017/Check Point Research"
    description = "The Gentlemen Ransomware written in GO."
  strings:
    $string1 = "Silent mode (don't rename files)" ascii
    $string2 = "Encrypt only mapped and UNC network shares" ascii
    $string3 = "README-GENTLEMEN.txt" ascii
    $string4 = "gentlemen.bmp" ascii
    $string5 = "gentlemen_system" ascii
    $string6 = "[+] Encryption started. Going background..." ascii
    $string7 = "[+] FULL Encryption started" ascii
  condition:
    uint16(0) == 0x5A4D and 4 of them
}

Defender Detection Names

Platform	Detection Name
Microsoft Defender AV	Ransom:Win64/Gentlemen.SH!MTB
Microsoft Defender AV	Ransom:Win64/BlackByte.SZ!MTB (for win.exe)
Microsoft Defender AV	Trojan:Win32/MpTamperBulkExcl.H (PowerShell AV tampering)
ESET	Win64/KillAV.EA (all GentleKiller variants)
ESET	Win64/Agent.ITG (eb.sys rootkit driver)
ESET	Win64/VulnDriver.* (all abused vulnerable drivers)
Trend Micro	Ransom.Win64.GENTLEMAN.THHAIBE
Trend Micro	Trojan.Win64.KILLAV.THHBHBE

Operator TOX IDs (From Leaked Data)

The following TOX IDs were extracted from ransomware samples, linking campaigns to affiliates:

TOX ID	Role / Notes
F8E24C7F5B12CD69C44C73F438F65E9BF560ADF35EBBDF92CF9A9B84079F8F04060FF98D098E	Administrator (zeta88 / hastalamuerte) confirmed in 4 infections
98C132E2B20B531BE6604397D97040C1E9EB42FCE12EDF119BCE8B4031CA5C70DAF5E65FA3C3	Most prolific affiliate 11+ campaign samples
D2CBA43A1AF6D965432AE11487726DB84D2945CF2CD975D7774B76B54AF052418AC2E59ADA69	Active affiliate 6 campaign samples
D527959A7BC728CB272A0DB683B547F079C98012201A48DD2792B84604E8BC29F6E6BDB8003F	Active affiliate 3 campaign samples
F96C481CBB0D6E7BDA49C6D68CFDB1D284354961534EDEEDA854C672B48A8D6B7146F90BDACB	Active affiliate
2F1A9C8B8AA163BBB84FF799A0954B232C279C5E9EE42505955288EAAD28685A2BC0713C7745	Active affiliate 2 campaign samples
15CE8D5DB0BAC3BCBB1FA69F2E672CC54EFBEC7684DA792F3CBF8B007A9FEA1D16374560DFA5	Active affiliate
88984846080D639C9A4EC394E53BA616D550B2B3AD691942EA2CCD33AA5B9340FD1A8FF40E9A	Active affiliate

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

Tactic	Technique ID	Technique Name	Implementation
Initial Access	T1190	Exploit Public-Facing Application	CVE-2024-55591 FortiOS, CVE-2025-32433 Erlang SSH
Initial Access	T1078	Valid Accounts	Brute-forced / infostealer-sourced VPN credentials
Execution	T1059.001	PowerShell	Defender disabling, Defender exclusion abuse, lateral movement blobs
Execution	T1059.003	Windows Command Shell	GentleKiller console execution
Execution	T1047	WMIC	WMIC-based remote process creation for lateral movement
Execution	T1053.005	Scheduled Tasks	gentlemen_system, UpdateSystem, UpdateUser, WindowsConnSvc
Execution	T1106	Native API	DeviceIoControl calls to BYOVD kernel drivers
Persistence	T1136	Create Account	New domain/local accounts created by operators
Persistence	T1543.003	Windows Service	Driver installation as Windows service; DefSvc, UpdateSvc
Persistence	T1547.001	Registry Run Keys	GupdateS, GupdateU Run key persistence
Persistence	T1574	Hijack Execution Flow	BYOVD driver hijacking execution flow to kernel
Privilege Escalation	T1068	Exploitation for Privilege Escalation	CVE-2025-7771 via ThrottleBlood.sys
Defense Evasion	T1562.001	Disable or Modify Tools	GentleKiller, HexKiller, ThrottleBlood, HavocKiller, EDRStartupHinder
Defense Evasion	T1562.009	Safe Mode Boot	ETW patching, NTDLL unhooking (noted in post-leak locker upgrade)
Defense Evasion	T1070.001	Clear Windows Event Logs	System, Application, Security logs cleared via wevtutil
Defense Evasion	T1070.004	File Deletion	Prefetch, Defender logs, PowerShell history removed
Defense Evasion	T1036	Masquerading	EDR killers impersonate Kaspersky, Valorant, FACEIT, Symantec, etc.
Defense Evasion	T1036.001	Invalid Code Signature	Copied invalid signatures from legitimate executables
Defense Evasion	T1027	Obfuscated Files	Enigma/Themida packers; Garble Go obfuscation for locker
Defense Evasion	T1112	Modify Registry	Tampers with registry for anonymous SMB access and AV disabling
Credential Access	T1003.001	LSASS Memory	KslDump, KslKatz, Velociraptor LSASS collection
Credential Access	T1003.003	NTDS	ntds.dit extraction via buildx641/OxideHarvest
Credential Access	T1557.001	NTLM Relay	RelayKing with CVE-2025-33073
Discovery	T1082	System Information Discovery	OS/environment enumeration pre-encryption
Discovery	T1135	Network Share Discovery	Drive letters A–Z probed; WMI volume queries
Discovery	T1069	Permission Groups Discovery	AD group enumeration via NetExec/BloodHound integration
Lateral Movement	T1021	Remote Services	RDP, WinRM, SMB, PsExec lateral movement
Lateral Movement	T1570	Lateral Tool Transfer	Binary staging via C$ share and hidden share$
Lateral Movement	T1484.001	GPO Modification	Domain-wide ransomware deployment via GPO/NETLOGON
Collection	T1560	Archive Collected Data	Large-volume data exfiltration (hundreds of GB to TBs)
Exfiltration	T1048	Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol	WinSCP encrypted data transfer
Exfiltration	T1567	Exfiltration to Cloud	Cloudflare tunnels used for covert exfiltration
Impact	T1486	Data Encrypted for Impact	Curve25519 + XChaCha20 per-file encryption
Impact	T1490	Inhibit System Recovery	VSS deletion via vssadmin and wmic
Impact	T1561	Disk Wipe	Free space wiping with random data (--wipe flag)
Impact	T1491	Defacement	Desktop wallpaper changed to gentlemen.bmp

Defensive Recommendations

Immediate Priority Actions

1. Patch CVE-2024-55591 urgently FortiOS authentication bypass is The Gentlemen’s primary initial access vector. Audit all internet-facing FortiGate, FortiProxy, and FortiSwitch devices and apply Fortinet’s patches immediately. Force credential resets on all VPN accounts.
2. Block all 8 GentleKiller drivers and 3 third-party EDR killer drivers Use Microsoft’s Vulnerable Driver Blocklist and Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). Audit against the complete driver list: eb.sys, nseckrnl.sys, vgk.sys, stpm_old.sys, stpm_new.sys, dmx.sys, 360netmon_wfp.sys, IMFForceDelete, G11.sys, googleApiUtil64.sys, ThrottleBlood.sys, havoc.sys.
3. Enable HVCI (Memory Integrity / Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity) HVCI prevents unsigned and vulnerable kernel drivers from loading, blocking the BYOVD attack vector at the hardware level.
4. Alert on Sysmon Event ID 6 (Driver Loaded) Log all driver loads with hash and SignatureStatus. Cross-reference against the LOLDrivers list and the Gentlemen-specific driver hashes above.
5. Mandate phishing-resistant MFA on all VPN/RDP/OWA endpoints The group actively brute-forces and credential-stuffs these services. Eliminate single-factor authentication on all external-facing infrastructure.

Detection Rules (SIEM/EDR Alerts)

Alert Priority	Detection	Rationale
Critical	Scheduled task gentlemen_system created	Confirmed precursor to SYSTEM-privileged encryption
Critical	vssadmin.exe delete shadows or wmic shadowcopy delete	Shadow copy deletion immediate ransomware indicator
Critical	Security, System, Application event logs cleared	Observed in 100% of documented incidents
Critical	Loading of driver from GentlemenCollection directory	Direct staging indicator
High	Multiple Sysmon EID 6 (driver loads) with non-Microsoft certificates	BYOVD attack in progress
High	Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true via PowerShell	Defender disabling observed in every incident
High	Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath C:	Exclusion of entire C: drive from AV scanning
High	svchost32.exe connecting outbound over SOCKS (ports 44729, 37182)	Known C2 beacon masquerading as system process
High	GPO creation with unknown executable as startup script	Domain-wide ransomware deployment precursor
High	Outbound Cloudflare WARP tunnel from non-IT endpoints	Pre-encryption staging behavior
Medium	Bulk NTLM relay scanning from internal hosts (RelayKing signatures)	Pre-encryption network reconnaissance
Medium	EDRStartupHinder or gfreeze process names detected	Startup EDR evasion tools
Medium	New shares created: share$ on C:Temp	Lateral movement staging share

Architecture and Hardening

• Implement strict IT/OT network segmentation The Gentlemen’s worm propagation exploits flat networks; segmentation is the single most effective containment control
• Protect backups with immutability The group actively targets Veeam, backup services, and NAS devices. Offline, immutable, air-gapped backups are mandatory
• Enable EDR Tamper Protection Use vendor-specific tamper protection with Anti-exploit Protection to prevent process termination by EDR killers
• Restrict domain controller NETLOGON share access Alert on unauthorized NETLOGON/SYSVOL modifications, as GPO-based deployment uses this vector
• Deploy deception technologies Honeyfiles and honeytokens on critical file shares detect reconnaissance activities early
• Monitor LSASS access Alert on Velociraptor, KslDump, or any unexpected process accessing LSASS memory
• Restrict anonymous SMB access Harden LSA registry settings (RestrictAnonymous, RestrictAnonymousSAM) that the encryptor attempts to disable
• Block tool binaries Consider blocking NetExec, RelayKing, PrivHound, TaskHound, CertiHound at perimeter and endpoint levels

On May 4, 2026, the Gentlemen RaaS administrator publicly acknowledged an internal breach of their “Rocket” backend database. The leak, sold by actor n7778 for $10,000 in Bitcoin, contained approximately 16.22 GB of operational data, with 44.4 MB publicly released as proof. The exposed data included:

• 3,366 Rocket.Chat internal messages across channels: general, INFO, TOOLS, PODBOR
• 9 named operator accounts and their roles
• 1,570+ victims on one affiliate’s C2 botnet
• Bitcoin laundering chains and payout records
• Live FortiGate tracking dashboard showing active targets
• Full toolchain including EDRStartupHinder, gfreeze, and EDR killer collections
• Ransom negotiation transcripts ($250k initial → $190k settled)
• Shadow file with password hashes for all internal server accounts

Despite the breach, the group maintained operational continuity, dismissed the leak, and announced technical upgrades to their locker (NTDLL unhooking, hardware breakpoint removal, ETW patching).

The post The Gentlemen Ransomware With Custom EDR/AV Killers Scaling Faster to Attack Industries Worldwide appeared first on Cyber Security News.