Ransomware Mastermind Uncovered After Oversharing on Dark Web
When researchers responded to an ad to join up with a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation, they wound up in a cybercriminal job interview with one of the most active threat actors in the affiliate business, who turns out to be behind at least five different strains of ransomware. Meet “farnetwork,” who was unmasked after giving over…
Cyber Police of Ukraine arrested members of a gang that defrauded EU citizens of $4.33M
The Cyber Police of Ukraine, with the support of law enforcement officials from the Czech Republic, has arrested several members of a cybercriminal ring that defrauded EU citizens of $4.33 million with phishing campaigns. The suspects set up more than 100 phishing websites to obtain the bank card data and banking account credentials of foreign…
Twitter data of “+400 million unique users” up for sale – what to do?
Hot on the heels of the LastPass data breach saga, which first came to light in August 2022, comes news of a Twitter breach, apparently based on a Twitter bug that first made headlines back in the same month. According to a screenshot posted by news site Bleeping Computer, a cybercriminal has advertised: I’m selling…
Russian National Arrested in Canada Over LockBit Ransomware Attacks
The individual, Mikhail Vasiliev, was arrested in late October, Europol said on Thursday. He is described as one of the world’s most prolific ransomware operators and one of Europol’s high-value targets due to his involvement in many high-profile ransomware cases. Authorities said he demanded ransom payments ranging between €5 and €70 million. The US Justice…
Linux Trojan XorDdos Attacks Surge, Targeting Cloud, IoT
Cybercriminal use of the Linux Trojan known as XorDdos is on the rise, according to a new report, which found a 254% increase in malicious activity against Linux endpoints using the malware over the last six months. It was first discovered in 2014, and the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team explained in a recent blog…
What We Can Learn From Lapsus$ Techniques
The Lapsus$ cybercriminal collective has been making headlines in recent weeks. After several high-profile attacks, the security community is turning its gaze toward this new threat actor and its techniques. The Okta incident also reveals some details of their techniques. Microsoft has now published an in-depth blog post detailing the activities it has observed associated…
Interview With a Russian Cybercriminal
IT security practitioners spend a lot of time strategizing ransomware defense, but many know little about the criminals plotting attacks. Who is the person behind a devastating ransomware campaign? Why did they choose a specific target? What about cybercrime appeals to them? To better understand the attacker’s perspective, Cisco Talos researchers interviewed a LockBit ransomware…
6 board of directors security concerns every CISO should be prepared to address
Data breaches, ransomware attacks and concerns over risks tied to the global pandemic have heightened interest in cybersecurity among corporate boards of directors. Security leaders say BoDs have become more engaged in security matters, have a keener understanding of cyber issues, and have begun asking more sophisticated question about risk exposure and ways to manage…
Cybercriminal group mails malicious USB dongles to targeted companies
Security researchers have come across an attack where an USB dongle designed to surreptitiously behave like a keyboard was mailed to a company under the guise of a Best Buy gift card. This technique has been used by security professionals during physical penetration testing engagements in the past, but it has very rarely been observed…
New Bill in Georgia Could Criminalize Security Research
A new bill passed by the Georgia State Senate last week deems all forms of unauthorized computer access as illegal, thus potentially criminalizing the finding and reporting of security vulnerabilities. The new bill, which met fierce opposition from the cybersecurity community ever since it first became public, amends the Georgia code that originally considered only…