Operators of an unknown ransomware gang are using a Python script to encrypt virtual machines hosted on VMware ESXi servers.

It's a little snippet of Python code – 6KB – that strikes fast and nasty, taking less than three hours to complete from initial breach to encryption.

Attackers used a script written in Python during a recent ransomware attack which took just three hours, encrypting all the virtual disks on the target's virtual machine hypervisor. Andrew Brandt, the ...

A previously undocumented Python backdoor targeting VMware ESXi servers has been spotted, enabling hackers to execute commands remotely on a compromised system.

The report, “Python Ransomware Script Targets ESXi Server for Encryption,” details a sniper-like operation that took less than three hours to progress from breach to encryption.