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Taiwanese network-attached storage (NAS) devices maker QNAP on Thursday warned its customers of a fresh wave of DeadBolt ransomware attacks. The intrusions are said to have targeted TS-x51 series and TS-x53 series appliances running on QTS 4.3.6 and QTS 4.4.1, according to its product security incident response team. “QNAP urges all NAS users to check […]
Ransomware is not a new attack vector. In fact, the first malware of its kind appeared more than 30 years ago and was distributed via 5.25-inch floppy disks. To pay the ransom, the victim had to mail money to a P.O. Box in Panama. Fast forward to today, affordable ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) kits are available on […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed a penalty of nearly $1 million to Colonial Pipeline for violating federal safety regulations, worsening the impact of the ransomware attack last year. The $986,400 penalty is the result of an inspection conducted by the regulator of the pipeline operator’s control […]
The U.S. State Department has announced rewards of up to $10 million for any information leading to the identification of key individuals who are part of the infamous Conti cybercrime gang. Additionally, it’s offering another $5 million for intelligence information that could help arrest or convict individuals who are conspiring or attempting to affiliate with […]
Experts from Trellix discovered that VHD Ransomware was linked to North Korea’s cyber army. The cyber-army of North Korea has been divided into several units, all of which have different tasks and report to ‘Bureau (or Lab) 121’. Unit 180, also known as APT38 is responsible for the attacks on foreign financial systems, including banks […]
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a new variant of the AvosLocker ransomware that disables antivirus solutions to evade detection after breaching target networks by taking advantage of unpatched security flaws. “This is the first sample we observed from the U.S. with the capability to disable a defense solution using a legitimate Avast Anti-Rootkit Driver file (asWarPot.sys),” […]
The infamous ransomware group known as Conti has continued its onslaught against entities despite suffering a massive data leak of its own earlier this year, according to new research. Conti, attributed to a Russia-based threat actor known as Gold Ulrick, is the second most prevalent malware strain in the ransomware landscape, accounting for 19% of […]
The cybersecurity experts at Varonis security firm have recently discovered a Hive ransomware affiliate that has been deploying a variety of backdoors, including the Cobalt Strike beacon, in order to compromise the Microsoft Exchange servers that are vulnerable to the ProxyShell flaws. By deploying these backdoors the threat actors perform the following tasks and activities:- […]
An 18-month-long analysis of the PYSA ransomware operation has revealed that the cybercrime cartel followed a five-stage software development cycle from August 2020, with the malware authors prioritizing features to improve the efficiency of its workflows. This included a user-friendly tool like a full-text search engine to facilitate the extraction of metadata and enable the […]
Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered further links between BlackCat (aka AlphaV) and BlackMatter ransomware families, the former of which emerged as a replacement following international scrutiny last year. “At least some members of the new BlackCat group have links to the BlackMatter group, because they modified and reused a custom exfiltration tool […] and which has […]
An analysis of two ransomware attacks has identified overlaps in the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) between BlackCat and BlackMatter, indicating a strong connection between the two groups. While it’s typical of ransomware groups to rebrand their operations in response to increased visibility into their attacks, BlackCat (aka Alphv) marks a new frontier in that […]
As many as 722 ransomware attacks were observed during the fourth quarter of 2021, with LockBit 2.0, Conti, PYSA, Hive, and Grief emerging as the most prevalent strains, according to new research published by Intel 471. The attacks mark an increase of 110 and 129 attacks from the third and second quarters of 2021, respectively. […]
Yaroslav Vasinskyi, a Ukrainian national, linked to the Russia-based REvil ransomware group has been extradited to the U.S. to face charges for his role in carrying out the file-encrypting malware attacks against several companies, including Kaseya last July. The 22-year-old had been previously arrested in Poland in October 2021, prompting the U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) […]
Cybercriminals leverage multiple methods to bring financial gain. Most of the ways are based on infiltrating an organization’s network and gaining unauthenticated access, which will lead to disruption in their operations. This can be achieved by Ransomware or DDoS Extortion attacks. Ransomware and DDoS extortion attacks are both threats businesses should take seriously. Here are […]
A new data wiper malware has been observed deployed against an unnamed Ukrainian government network, a day after destructive cyber attacks struck multiple entities in the country preceding the start of Russia’s military invasion. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET dubbed the new malware “IsaacWiper,” which it said was detected on February 24 in an organization that […]
Days after the Conti ransomware group broadcasted a pro-Russian message pledging its allegiance to Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, an anonymous security researcher using the Twitter handle @ContiLeaks has leaked the syndicate’s internal chats. The file dump, published by malware research group VX-Underground, is said to contain 13 months of chat logs between affiliates […]
Cybersecurity authorities from Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. have published a joint advisory warning of an increase in sophisticated, high-impact ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure organizations across the world in 2021. The incidents singled out a broad range of sectors, including defense, emergency services, agriculture, government facilities, IT, healthcare, financial services, education, energy, charities, […]
A politically motivated hacker group tied to a series of espionage and sabotage attacks on Israeli entities in 2021 incorporated a previously undocumented remote access trojan (RAT) that masquerades as the Windows Calculator app as part of a conscious effort to stay under the radar. Cybersecurity company Cybereason, which has been tracking the operations of […]
The financially motivated FIN8 actor, in all likelihood, has resurfaced with a never-before-seen ransomware strain called “White Rabbit” that was recently deployed against a local bank in the U.S. in December 2021. That’s according to new findings published by Trend Micro, calling out the malware’s overlaps with Egregor, which was taken down by Ukrainian law […]
Cybersecurity teams from Microsoft on Saturday disclosed they identified evidence of a new destructive malware operation targeting government, non-profit, and information technology entities in Ukraine amid brewing geopolitical tensions between the country and Russia. “The malware is disguised as ransomware but, if activated by the attacker, would render the infected computer system inoperable,” Tom Burt, […]
In an unprecedented move, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the country’s principal security agency, on Friday disclosed that it arrested several members belonging to the notorious REvil ransomware gang and neutralized its operations. The surprise takedown, which it said was carried out at the request of the U.S. authorities, saw the law enforcement agency conduct […]