Unmasking The Gentlemen Ransomware: How It Works and How to Protect Yourself

[johny899]

Although ransomware stories typically tend to sound the same, the hackers get in, take over files, demand a ransom, but European-based Gentlemen ransomware group has a different business model. They are clever, deliberate, and maybe even scary. Let's talk about what they do differently.

A New Player And Going For Big Game​

The Gentlemen appeared in mid-2025 and were immediately targeting significant players. We are talking about manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, and construction. They did not limit themselves to one region, it was evident from the start that they had a global reach.

I am often asked why attackers target these industries? And it is simply because these industries are in constant operational mode. When you are shutting down a factory or hospital's systems, the pressure to pay becomes very high.

How They Get In​

Rather than spend thousands of dollars on zero-day exploits, The Gentlemen group typically used low-tech targets like exposed services, or stolen passwords. Once they got access to the system, The Gentlemen organized and mapped the whole network using scanners. A rough analogy is a thief’s sketch of the floor plan just before they rob a house.

And here is the tricky part: they would use legitimate Windows drivers as legitimate drivers, but then hack the legitimate driver to do nefarious things. One of the drivers these guys used was for disabling security software, so they could traverse across the system unencumbered. The metaphor is killing the security alarm system with a set of keys instead of tripping the alarm—first responders don’t get to the house, and there’s no call from dispatch on the alarm company. That’s not good.

The Real Damage​

After The Gentlemen gained control, they did not just lock files. They stole sensitive and proprietary data, destroyed or altered backups, and they then exfiltrated the proprietary data or exfiltrated the sensitive data normally with encryption. It was a double extortion operation and you either pay the ransom or maybe lose your confidential files to public exposure.

In Conclusion​

So, what’s the takeaway? Ransomware is no longer about using brute force, it is now about strategy and precision, and the Gentlemen demonstrate this quite well. If you are the custodian of protecting systems, then don’t wait to read alarms, then take notice of behaviors that are out of the ordinary, shut down access to critical systems, and always, always safeguard backups.