- US Cyber Command head confirms direct actions against ransomware gangs
December 8, 2021
General Paul M. Nakasone, head of US Cyber Command confirmed during a recent national security event that his agency has begun taking direct action against international ransomware gangs as part of a larger effort to curtail attacks on American companies and infrastructure. The General explained that his agency is working hand-in-hand with the NSA, FBI, and ...
- Inside the criminal groups using disinformation to sell fake COVID passes
December 8, 2021
“For all those who do not wish to be vaccinated, here is an alternative.” This is how fake or fraudulent EU COVID certificates are being advertised online by criminal groups. Sky News has found evidence of these passes, which could be used as proof of vaccination to enter the UK, being advertised in at least nine European ...
- Tor blocked in Russia
December 8, 2021
The Tor browser, which allows users to surf the internet anonymously and access prohibited webpages, has been blocked across much of Russia, according to recent reports from an internet-monitoring group. The Open Observatory of Network Interference, or OONI, reported last week that Tor’s system of proxy servers in Russia had partly stopped working at around 5:21pm ...
- When Scammers Get Scammed, They Take It to Cybercrime Court
December 7, 2021
Blocked from legitimate courts, cybercriminals have set up their own system for settling disputes, handing over ultimate decision-making to senior underground forum administrators who have awarded claims totaling as much as $20 million. A new report from Analyst1 details activities inside these underground systems and found more than 600 requests for mediation on just one Russian-language ...
- Canadian indicted for launching ransomware attacks on orgs in US, Canada
December 7, 2021
The FBI and Justice Department unsealed indictments today leveling a number of charges against 31-year-old Canadian Matthew Philbert for his alleged involvement in several ransomware attacks. Officials from the Ontario Provincial Police held a press conference on Tuesday to announce the charges and Philbert’s arrest in Ottawa. In a statement, US Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District ...
- The story of the year: ransomware in the headlines
December 7, 2021
In the past twelve months, the word “ransomware” has popped up in countless headlines worldwide across both print and digital publications: The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, the New York Times. It is no longer just being discussed by CISOs and security professionals, but politicians, school administrators, and hospital directors. Words like Babuk and REvil ...
- State of Cybersecurity in Germany in 2021
December 7, 2021
According to Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the country faces a grave and growing threat as society becomes more digitally connected and criminals more sophisticated. The BSI said threat levels have reached red alarm levels. Threat level increased BSI published their annual report “The State of IT Security in Germany in 2021.” It highlights that ...
- Emotet now drops Cobalt Strike, fast forwards ransomware attacks
December 7, 2021
In a concerning development, the notorious Emotet malware now installs Cobalt Strike beacons directly, giving immediate network access to threat actors and making ransomware attacks imminent. Emotet is a malware infection that spreads through spam emails containing malicious Word or Excel documents. These documents utilize macros to download and install the Emotet Trojan on a victim’s ...
- Indicators of Compromise Associated with Cuba Ransomware
December 2, 2021
The FBI has identified, as of early November 2021 that Cuba ransomware actors have compromised at least 49 entities in five critical infrastructure sectors, including but not limited to the financial, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and information technology sectors. Cuba ransomware is distributed through Hancitor malware, a loader known for dropping or executing stealers, such as ...
- Colorado energy company loses 25 years of data after cyberattack while still rebuilding network
December 2, 2021
Colorado’s Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) is still struggling to recover from a devastating cyberattack last month that took down 90% of its internal systems and caused 25 years of historical data to be lost. In an update sent to customers this week, the company said it expects to be able to begin accepting payments through its ...
- Widespread ‘Smishing’ Campaign Defrauds Iranian Android Users
December 1, 2021
Attackers are impersonating the Iranian government in a widespread SMS phishing campaign that is defrauding thousands of Android users by installing malware on their devices that can steal their credit card data and siphon money from financial accounts. Researchers from Check Point Research estimate that the campaign, which sends so called “smishing” messages that entice victims ...
- Queensland government energy generator hit by ransomware
November 30, 2021
Queensland government-owned energy generator CS Energy said on Tuesday it was responding to a ransomware incident that occurred over the weekend. First reported by Energy Source & Distribution, the company said the incident has not impacted electricity generation at Callide and Kogan Creek power station, and it was looking to restore its network. ANZ regional director at ...
- Yanluowang: Further Insights on New Ransomware Threat
November 30, 2021
Yanluowang, the ransomware recently discovered by Symantec, a division of Broadcom Software, is now being used by a threat actor that has been mounting targeted attacks against U.S. corporations since at least August 2021. The attacker uses a number of tools, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) that were previously linked to Thieflock ransomware attacks, suggesting that ...
- Panasonic admits intruders were inside its servers for months
November 30, 2021
Japanese industrial giant Panasonic has admitted it’s been popped, and badly. A November 26 statement from the company admits that its network “was illegally accessed by a third party on November 11, 2021”. That date has since been revised – the company now says it became aware of the intrusion on the 11th, but that ...
- Dark web market Cannazon shuts down after massive DDoS attack
November 29, 2021
Cannazon, one of the largest dark web marketplaces for buying marijuana products, shut down last week after suffering a debilitating distributed denial of service attack. As the admins explained in a message signed with the market’s PGP key, they are officially retiring and claim not to be pulling an exit scam on their vendors. The admins posted ...
- WIRTE’s campaign in the Middle East ‘living off the land’ since at least 2019
November 29, 2021
This February, during our hunting efforts for threat actors using VBS/VBA implants, Kaspersky researchers came across MS Excel droppers that use hidden spreadsheets and VBA macros to drop their first stage implant. The implant itself is a VBS script with functionality to collect system information and execute arbitrary code sent by the attackers on the ...
- Wind turbine maker Vestas confirms recent security incident was ransomware
November 29, 2021
Wind turbine maker Vestas says “almost all” of its IT systems are finally up and running 10 days after a security attack by criminals, confirming that it had indeed fallen victim to ransomware. Alarm bells rang the weekend before last when the Danish organisation said it had identified a “cyber security incident” and closed off parts ...
- Interpol: More than 1,000 arrests and USD 27 million intercepted in massive financial crime crackdown
November 26, 2021
LYON, France – An operation coordinated by INTERPOL codenamed HAECHI-II saw police arrest more than 1,000 individuals and intercept a total of nearly USD 27 million of illicit funds, underlining the global threat of cyber-enabled financial crime. Taking place over four months from June to September 2021, Operation HAECHI-II brought together specialized police units from 20 ...
- IKEA email systems hit by ongoing cyberattack
November 26, 2021
IKEA is battling an ongoing cyberattack where threat actors are targeting employees in internal phishing attacks using stolen reply-chain emails. A reply-chain email attack is when threat actors steal legitimate corporate email and then reply to them with links to malicious documents that install malware on recipients’ devices. As the reply-chain emails are legitimate emails from a ...
- IT threat evolution Q3 2021
November 26, 2021
Last March, Kaspersky researchers reported a WildPressure campaign targeting industrial-related entities in the Middle East. While tracking this threat actor in spring 2021, they discovered a newer version. It contains the C++ Milum Trojan, a corresponding VBScript variant and a set of modules that include an orchestrator and three plugins. This confirms Kaspersky previous assumption ...
