President Rodrigo Chaves says Costa Rica is at war with Conti hackers
The president of Costa Rica says his country is "at war", as cyber-criminals cause major disruption to IT systems of numerous government ministries. Rodrigo Chaves said hackers infiltrated 27 government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities.
US links Thanos and Jigsaw ransomware to 55-year-old doctor
The US Department of Justice today said that Moises Luis Zagala Gonzalez (Zagala), a 55-year-old cardiologist with French and Venezuelan citizenship residing in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, created and rented Jigsaw and Thanos ransomware to cybercriminals.
Costa Rica declares national emergency after Conti ransomware attacks
The Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves has declared a national emergency following cyber attacks from Conti ransomware group on multiple government bodies. BleepingComputer also observed Conti published most of the 672 GB dump that appears to contain data belonging to the Costa Rican government agencies. The declaration was signed into law by Chaves on Sunday, May 8th, same day as the economist and former Minister of Finance effectively became the country's 49th and current president.
Ukrainian Researcher Leaks Conti Ransomware Gang Data
A Ukrainian cybersecurity researcher has released a huge batch of data that came from the internal systems of the Conti ransomware gang. The researcher released the
TrickBot malware operation shuts down, devs move to BazarBackdoor
The TrickBot malware operation has shut down after its core developers move to the Conti ransomware gang to focus development on the stealthy BazarBackdoor and Anchor malware families.
Ransomware Hive : arrestation d’un suspect à Paris | LeMagIT
Un ressortant russe résidant à Chypre, âgé d’une quarantaine d’années, a été interpellé la semaine dernière à Paris, soupçonné de liens avec la franchise de rançongiciel Hive.
Globalement, le mois écoulé se distingue par un niveau inédit de la menace observable, et incohérent avec la saisonnalité historiquement constatée. Mais cela ne vaut pas pour la France.
Welltok data breach exposes data of 8.5 million US patients
Healthcare SaaS provider Welltok is warning that a data breach exposed the personal data of nearly 8.5 million patients in the U.S. after a file transfer program used by the company was hacked in a data theft attack.
MadCat ransom gang caught stealing from other criminals
A new strain of ransomware called MadCat has been linked by security researchers to suspected scammers who pretend to sell passport details on the dark web so they can rip off their fellow crooks.
Understanding the Phobos affiliate structure and activity
Cisco Talos identified the most prolific Phobos variants, TTPs and affiliate structure, based on their activity and analysis of over 1,000 samples from VirusTotal dating back to 2019. We assess with moderate confidence Eking, Eight, Elbie, Devos and Faust are the most common variants
Rhysida ransomware gang claims attack on British Library • The Register
The Rhysida ransomware group says it's behind the highly disruptive October cyberattack on the British Library, leaking a snippet of stolen data in the process. A low-res image shared to its leak site appears to show a handful of passport scans, along with other documents, some of which display the format of HMRC employment documents.
2023’s ransomware rookies are a remix of Conti and other classics
Ransomware’s business model is a big part of what’s made it such a potent threat for so many years. However, we dug into multi-point ransomware attacks from 2023, and found another factor in ransomware’s staying power: a seemingly endless supply of new cyber crime groups starting ransomware operations.
Gang says ICBC paid ransom over hack that disrupted US Treasury market | Reuters
China's biggest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, paid a ransom after it was hacked last week, a Lockbit ransomware gang representative said on Monday in a statement which Reuters was unable to independently verify.
Toyota confirms breach after Medusa ransomware threatens to leak data
Toyota Financial Services (TFS) has confirmed that it detected unauthorized access on some of its systems in Europe and Africa after Medusa ransomware claimed an attack on the company.
Negotiating with LockBit: Uncovering the Evolution of Operations and Newly Established Rules
What defines success for ransomware actors during an attack? Breaching a victim’s network, exfiltrating valuable data, and encrypting systems are crucial components. However, the ultimate measurement of success is the actor’s ability to extort a ransom payment, which determines if they achieve their financial goals. Navigating the ransom negotiation phase, whether conducted by the victims themselves or designated recovery firms, demands a high level of expertise and a deep understanding of the attackers involved. This includes studying of the threat actor’s profile, tactics, and evolving strategies. In this complex landscape, there is no one-size-fits-all playbook for successfully managing the negotiation phase, as each ransomware group exhibits distinct behaviors and adopts new tactics shaped by many factors.
The LockBit ransomware gang is one of the most notorious organized cybercrime syndicates that exists today. The gang is behind attacks targeting private-sector corporations and other high-profile industries worldwide. News and media outlets have documented many LockBit attacks, while security vendors offer technical assessments explaining how each occurred. Although these provide insight into the attacks, I wanted to know more about the human side of the operation to learn about the insights, motivations, and behaviors of the individuals on the other side of the keyboard. To prepare for this project, I spent months developing several online personas and established their credibility over time to gain access to the gang’s operation.
Microsoft links Raspberry Robin malware to Evil Corp attacks
Microsoft has discovered that an access broker it tracks as DEV-0206 uses the Raspberry Robin Windows worm to deploy a malware downloader on networks where it also found evidence of malicious activity matching Evil Corp tactics.
SEKOIA.IO presents its Ransomware threat landscape for the first semester of 2022, with the following key points: Ransomware victimology – recent evolutions A busy first half of the year – several newcomers in the ransomware neighborhood Cross-platform ransomware features trend New extortion techniques State-nexus groups carrying out ransomware campaigns Ransomware threat groups’ Dark Web activities * A shift towards extortion without encryption?
LockBit 3.0 introduces the first ransomware bug bounty program
The LockBit ransomware operation has released 'LockBit 3.0,' introducing the first ransomware bug bounty program and leaking new extortion tactics and Zcash cryptocurrency payment options.
Conti ransomware finally shuts down data leak, negotiation sites
The Conti ransomware operation has finally shut down its last public-facing infrastructure, consisting of two Tor servers used to leak data and negotiate with victims, closing the final chapter of the notorious cybercrime brand.