The Gentlemen ransomware: Dissecting a self-propagating Go encryptor

Microsoft Threat Intelligence presents a comprehensive analysis of The Gentlemen, a Go-based ransomware deployed by affiliates of Storm-2697 that combines per-file ephemeral key encryption with an aggressive self-propagation module to deploy itself across an entire network using series of simultaneous lateral movement techniques per target. The post The Gentlemen ransomware: Dissecting a self-propagating Go encryptor appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog .

In this article Pre-encryption File encryption Post-encryption Defending against The Gentlemen ransomware Microsoft Defender detections and hunting guidance Indicators of compromise Ransomware that combines robust encryption with rapid lateral movement significantly increases the risk and impact of an attack. The Gentlemen ransomware is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) threat that is distinguished by its ability to pair its strong per-file encryption with an aggressive self-propagation capability designed to enable broad network compromise.

In addition to using per-file ephemeral Curve25519 keys with XChaCha20 stream cipher, The Gentlemen ransomware attempts to spread across an environment using series of simultaneous, distinct lateral movement methods, increasing the likelihood of widespread impact once initial access is achieved. Understand the threat Protect against ransomware and extortion activity › Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracks the operators behind the ransomware as Storm-2697, a financially motivated threat actor that manages the RaaS platform known as “The Gentlemen” while affiliates carry out attacks.

Emerging around mid-2025 , The Gentlemen initially started as a closed ransomware group then began offering its RaaS to affiliates in September 2025 . More recently, The Gentlemen operators established an official partnership with BreachForums, a popular cybercriminal marketplace, to recruit affiliates including penetration testers and initial access brokers. Given that The Gentlemen is already a widely adopted RaaS platform, this partnership may lead to increased activity as the program becomes accessible to a broader pool of threat actors.

The operators behind the ransomware use double extortion tactics, encrypting data while also exfiltrating sensitive information to pressure victims through the threat of public release if the ransom is not paid. The ransomware is written in Go and obfuscated with Garble to target the Windows environment. Microsoft has observed The Gentlemen ransomware impacting organizations across education, transportation, healthcare, and financial industries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

In this blog, we present a detailed analysis of the Gentlemen ransomware encryptor, including its execution flow, defense evasion behaviors, encryption design, and lateral movement techniques. This research is intended to provide defenders, incident responders, and the broader security community with a better understanding of how the threat operates, from initial argument parsing and defense evasion, through its file encryption internals, to the full lateral movement that enables it to propagate across the network.

We also provide mitigation guidance, Microsoft Defender detections, hunting queries, and indicators of compromise (IOCs) to help organizations defend against this threat and similar ransomware activity.