Grim Spider

GRIM SPIDER is a malicious threat actor, along with INDRIK SPIDER and BOSS SPIDER, that has been continuously operating in the cybersecurity landscape. These entities are responsible for executing actions with harmful intent, which could range from data breaches to deploying ransomware. The cybersecurity industry identifies these actors with unique names due to a lack of standardized naming conventions. GRIM SPIDER, in particular, has been associated with the deployment of Ryuk, a type of ransomware that emerged in August 2017. This association has resulted in some intrusion operations involving Ryuk being referred to as GRIM SPIDER operations. A common pattern observed across incident response investigations is the use of TrickBot, a banking Trojan, preceding the distribution of Ryuk ransomware, suggesting a strategic approach by the threat actor to maximize damage and profit. The Ryuk ransomware has proven to be a lucrative venture for its operators, including GRIM SPIDER. Falcon Intelligence tracks GRIM SPIDER and has reported significant immediate profits from campaigns that target large organizations. Given the success of these operations, it is expected that criminal actors like GRIM SPIDER will continue their activities in the near term, posing an ongoing threat to cybersecurity.