November 6, 2025 By Tushar Subhra Dutta
The cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve as new ransomware variants emerge from the remnants of previous campaigns.
Midnight ransomware represents one such development, drawing substantial inspiration from the notorious Babuk ransomware family that first appeared in early 2021.
Like its predecessor, Midnight employs sophisticated encryption techniques and targeted file selection strategies to maximize damage across infected systems.
However, what distinguishes this particular strain is the unintentional introduction of cryptographic weaknesses that have created a rare opportunity for victims to recover their data without paying extortion demands.
The journey from Babuk to Midnight traces back to 2021 when Babuk’s operators suddenly ceased operations and released their complete source code, triggering a cascade of derivative ransomware families.
