Meow Ransomware Group: Definition, Prevention & Mitigation

Meow Ransomware group is a highly active ransomware and data exfiltration gang that utilizes its own strain of ransomware to infect company devices, encrypt files, and demand payments. By focusing on high-value industries, Meow is able to extort businesses for large sums of money.

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Understanding the Meow Ransomware Group

Meow Ransomware was first identified in August 2022. Around this time, Conti’s previously successful ransomware strain was leaked, with Meow using this as a base for their ransomware strain. From August into March of the following year, the Meow Ransomware group continued to target businesses – extorting money from their targets in return for their systems being encrypted.

In March, researchers were able to locate leaked decryption keys and develop a free-to-use decryption tool. This rollout made Meow’s strain of ransomware completely ineffective, with the group disappearing for almost a year.

But, Meow was back in 2024, adding new names to their list of victims.

In August 2024, Meow secured the second most dangerous spot on the top ransomware list for the first time.

How Meow Ransomware Works: Tactics, Techniques & Procedures

In previous years, Meow has focused on ransomware tactics, holding company data under encryption in return for money. But, more recent events connected to Meow demonstrate how they are moving toward data exfiltration and selling files.

Their entry into the black market allows them to sell any sensitive data from companies that refuse to pay. There are three main methods that Meow uses to infect devices:

Remote Desktop Protocol Vulnerabilities: By encountering vulnerabilities in RDP platforms, Meow can remotely access devices and download ransomware onto them without the owner’s knowledge.
Phishing Emails: Meow uses the most common form of malware distribution, hiding files that contain malicious payloads in emails, URL links, and attachments.
Public Advertising: Meow leverages false advertisements, often related to cryptocurrency, which redirect users to contaminated websites.

The most obvious symptom of compromise from this strain of ransomware is full encryption, with systems compromised with Meow having a “.MEOW” extension on their files, alongside a ransom note named readme.txt. Victims of Meow can begin to negotiate their ransom payments by either:

Contacting the company via email
Chatting via Telegram

Targeted Industries and Organizations

Back in 2022, Meow Ransomware managed to encrypt over 20 GB of sensitive data from Advantage Certified Development Corporation (Advantage CDC), a nonprofit based in California. They demanded $24,000 for the release of the data, which included operational details and systems that Advantage CDC used to help underserved communities.

Since this attack, Meow has moved to selling any data that companies do not pay for the release of.

In 2024, the group was advertising a batch of stolen data for as much as $44,000. This movement toward locating and stealing sensitive data has also led Meow Ransomware to target larger corporations. Industries that house highly sensitive data, like the medical or financial fields, are most at risk from this group.

Best Practices to Prevent Meow Ransomware

Here are the leading practices and strategies that businesses should employ to protect from ransomware and other malware payloads:

Segment Business Networks: By segmenting business networks and isolating devices, you prevent malware from laterally moving through your systems, reducing the damage that any one corrupted device can cause.
Backup Your Data: The single most effective strategy to reduce the efficacy of ransomware is to count on several different backups at different locations. If your company wakes up one day to an extensive ransomware threat, the knowledge that you have recent backups to fall back on and use will allow your company to keep on working.
Educate Your Employees: An effective method of reducing the likelihood of a human error causing a ransomware threat is to educate your employees on what these threats look like, how to report what they think is a threat, and basic cybersecurity awareness practices.
Implement Additional Security Controls: Multi-factor authentication and zero-trust policies will help to keep your company accounts secure. If a malicious actor is able to phish account details, zero-trust network access will keep them out of your systems. Adding security controls may slow down how quickly your employees can log into their accounts but will dramatically reduce the likelihood of a breach.

While each of these strategies is effective, they all work best when run concurrently.

By engaging with all of these strategies simultaneously, your business can build up robust security that keeps you safe from Meow Ransomware (and most other malicious entities).

Ransomware Prevention with Check Point

As the average business attack surface continues to grow, companies across the globe become more exposed to malicious threats like ransomware attacks. It only takes one compromised device to corrupt an entire system, making vigilant cybersecurity systems more important than ever before.

Check Point Anti-Ransomware is a segment of Harmony Endpoint that aims to offer extensive protection against all forms of ransomware attacks. With high-level ransomware detection, Harmony is able to: