Ransomware attacks have taken an unwelcome turn: The Maze gang reportedly has begun leaking a victim's files to create pressure to pay a ransom. Security experts say they're not surprised by this development, but note that given the different skills required, such tactics may not become widespread.
Dopplepaymer ransomware, despite ongoing rumors, is not being spread via the Teams collaboration platform or BlueKeep remote desktop protocol flaws, Microsoft says. But it warns that the damaging crypto-locking code is being spread via stolen Active Directory administrator credentials.
Pemex, Mexico's state-run oil company, is refusing to pay attackers a $5 million ransom after a ransomware attack against the firm's administrative offices, according to news reports. The company is still attempting to recover.
Nearly four months after Capital One revealed a massive data breach, Michael Johnson, the bank's CISO, is being moved into an outside advisory role, and the company is scouting for a new security leader, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Ransomware continues to be a highly profitable cybercrime. Ransomware incident response firm Coveware reports that for the third quarter of this year, the average ransom amount paid was $41,198, a six-fold increase from the same period last year, driven by strains such as Ryuk and Sodinokibi.
For Russian-speaking hackers, ransomware used to be taboo. But GandCrab killed all such ethical qualms, democratizing ransomware-as-a-service, paving the way for new profit-sharing schemes such as Sodinokibi and driving a new generation of attackers to master advanced hacking skills, a new report finds.
Johannesburg has been hit with a ransomware attack that is crippling municipal services. City Power, an electric utility owned by the city that was hit by a similar attack in July - also was affected by the latest attack.
Billtrust, a cloud-based, business-to-business payment provider, reportedly is continuing to recover from a ransomware attack that crippled its computer systems.
Ransomware is once again the most common illicit profit-making tool in online attackers' arsenal, police warn. Security firm Emsisoft says the most-seen strains in recent months include STOP, Dharma .cezar, Phobos, GlobeImposter 2.0 and Sodinokibi. Less widely seen Ryuk also continues to generate big profits.
Pitney Bowes says it was infected by file-encrypting malware that has affected online accounts and mailing products but that client data doesn't appear to be at risk. The postage meter maker says "all options" are being considered for recovery, meaning that it could pay a ransom.
More than 600 ransomware attacks pummelled local governments, schools districts and healthcare providers across the U.S. in the first three quarters of this year, according to a study by security firm Emsisoft. Meanwhile, the FBI this week issued a fresh warning about the threat.
A recent rash of ransomware attacks in the U.S. healthcare sector shows the serious disruptions these assaults can pose - including temporarily, or even permanently, stopping patient care.
Medical facilities and hospitals across the state of Victoria in Australia were infected by file-encrypting ransomware on Monday, causing the shutdown of patient booking systems and financial systems. At least one hospital has reverted to using paper-based systems.
"Cyberattacks are one of the unfortunate realities of doing business today," reads gaming company Zynga's data breach notification, thus breaking the first rule of crisis management: Own your mistakes. Hacker Gnosticplayers claims the company was still storing passwords using outdated SHA1.
The city of Baltimore's ransomware outbreak - $18 million in costs and counting - led to many crypto-locked files being lost forever, because no IT policy mandated centralized file backups. But effective IT solutions exist to help solve this challenge, provided they're deployed in advance of an attack.
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