The Black Basta ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation has targeted more than 500 private industry and critical infrastructure entities in North America, Europe, and Australia since its emergence in April 2022. In a joint advisory published by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services […]
The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) has unmasked the administrator and developer of the LockBit ransomware operation, revealing it to be a 31-year-old Russian national named Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev. In addition, Khoroshev has been sanctioned by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCD), the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control […]
Between crossovers – Do threat actors play dirty or desperate? In our dataset of over 11,000 victim organizations that have experienced a Cyber Extortion / Ransomware attack, we noticed that some victims re-occur. Consequently, the question arises why we observe a re-victimization and whether or not this is an actual second attack, an affiliate crossover […]
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Threat actors are exploiting unpatched Atlassian servers to deploy a Linux variant of Cerber (aka C3RB3R) ransomware. The attacks leverage CVE-2023-22518 (CVSS score: 9.1), a critical security vulnerability impacting the Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server that allows an unauthenticated attacker to reset Confluence and create an administrator account. Armed with this access, a threat […]
2023 CL0P Growth Emerging in early 2019, CL0P was first introduced as a more advanced version of its predecessor the ‘CryptoMix’ ransomware, brought about by its owner CL0P ransomware, a cybercrime organisation. Over the years the group remained active with significant campaigns throughout 2020 to 2022. But in 2023 the CL0P ransomware gang took itself […]
The ransomware industry surged in 2023 as it saw an alarming 55.5% increase in victims worldwide, reaching a staggering 5,070. But 2024 is starting off showing a very different picture. While the numbers skyrocketed in Q4 2023 with 1309 cases, in Q1 2024, the ransomware industry was down to 1,048 cases. This is a 22% […]
Multiple threat actors are exploiting the recently disclosed security flaws in JetBrains TeamCity software to deploy ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, Cobalt Strike beacons, and a Golang-based remote access trojan called Spark RAT. The attacks entail the exploitation of CVE-2024-27198 (CVSS score: 9.8) that enables an adversary to bypass authentication measures and gain administrative control over affected […]
A 34-year-old Russian-Canadian national has been sentenced to nearly four years in jail in Canada for his participation in the LockBit global ransomware operation. Mikhail Vasiliev, an Ontario resident, was originally arrested in November 2022 and charged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) with “conspiring with others to intentionally damage protected computers and to […]
The threat actors behind the BianLian ransomware have been observed exploiting security flaws in JetBrains TeamCity software to conduct their extortion-only attacks. According to a new report from GuidePoint Security, which responded to a recent intrusion, the incident “began with the exploitation of a TeamCity server which resulted in the deployment of a PowerShell implementation […]
The threat actors behind the BlackCat ransomware have shut down their darknet website and likely pulled an exit scam after uploading a bogus law enforcement seizure banner. “ALPHV/BlackCat did not get seized. They are exit scamming their affiliates,” security researcher Fabian Wosar said. “It is blatantly obvious when you check the source code of the […]
The cybercrime group called GhostSec has been linked to a Golang variant of a ransomware family called GhostLocker. “TheGhostSec and Stormous ransomware groups are jointly conducting double extortion ransomware attacks on various business verticals in multiple countries,” Cisco Talos researcher Chetan Raghuprasad said in a report shared with The Hacker News. “GhostLocker and Stormous ransomware […]
U.S. cybersecurity and intelligence agencies have warned of Phobos ransomware attacks targeting government and critical infrastructure entities, outlining the various tactics and techniques the threat actors have adopted to deploy the file-encrypting malware. “Structured as a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model, Phobos ransomware actors have targeted entities including municipal and county governments, emergency services, education, public healthcare, […]
The threat actors behind the LockBit ransomware operation have resurfaced on the dark web using new infrastructure, days after an international law enforcement exercise seized control of its servers. To that end, the notorious group has moved its data leak portal to a new .onion address on the TOR network, listing 12 new victims as […]
The U.S. State Department has announced monetary rewards of up to $15 million for information that could lead to the identification of key leaders within the LockBit ransomware group and the arrest of any individual participating in the operation. “Since January 2020, LockBit actors have executed over 2,000 attacks against victims in the United States, […]
The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) on Tuesday confirmed that it obtained LockBit’s source code as well as a wealth of intelligence pertaining to its activities and their affiliates as part of a dedicated task force called Operation Cronos. “Some of the data on LockBit’s systems belonged to victims who had paid a ransom to […]
Update: The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) has confirmed the takedown of LockBit infrastructure. Read here for more details. An international law enforcement operation has led to the seizure of multiple darknet domains operated by LockBit, one of the most prolific ransomware groups, marking the latest in a long list of digital takedowns. While the […]
An INTERPOL-led collaborative operation targeting phishing, banking malware, and ransomware attacks has led to the identification of 1,300 suspicious IP addresses and URLs. The law enforcement effort, codenamed Synergia, took place between September and November 2023 in an attempt to blunt the “growth, escalation and professionalization of transnational cybercrime.” Involving 60 law enforcement agencies spanning […]
Cybersecurity researchers have detected in the wild yet another variant of the Phobos ransomware family known as Faust. Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, which detailed the latest iteration of the ransomware, said it’s being propagated by means of an infection that delivers a Microsoft Excel document (.XLAM) containing a VBA script. “The attackers utilized the Gitea service […]
The ransomware group known as Kasseika has become the latest to leverage the Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attack to disarm security-related processes on compromised Windows hosts, joining the likes of other groups like Akira, AvosLocker, BlackByte, and RobbinHood. The tactic allows “threat actors to terminate antivirus processes and services for the deployment of […]
The threat actors associated with the Medusa ransomware have ramped up their activities following the debut of a dedicated data leak site on the dark web in February 2023 to publish sensitive data of victims who are unwilling to agree to their demands. “As part of their multi-extortion strategy, this group will provide victims with […]