- Russian hackers use fake NATO training docs to breach govt networks
September 22, 2020
A Russian hacker group known by names, APT28, Fancy Bear, Sofacy, Sednit, and STRONTIUM, is behind a targeted attack campaign aimed at government bodies. The group delivered a hard-to-detect strand of Zebrocy Delphi malware under the pretense of providing NATO training materials. Researchers further inspected the files containing the payload and discovered these impersonated JPG files showing ...
- Fileless Malware Tops Critical Endpoint Threats for 1H 2020
September 21, 2020
In the first half of 2020, the most common critical-severity cybersecurity threat to endpoints was fileless malware, according to a recent analysis of telemetry data from Cisco. Fileless threats consist of malicious code that runs in memory after initial infection, instead of files being stored on the hard drive. Cisco flagged threats like Kovter, Poweliks, Divergent ...
- Patient dies after ransomware attack reroutes her to remote hospital in Germany
September 17, 2020
A woman seeking emergency treatment for a life-threatening condition died after a ransomware attack crippled a nearby hospital in Duesseldorf, Germany, and forced her to obtain services from a more distant facility, it was widely reported on Thursday. German authorities are investigating the unknown perpetrators on suspicion of negligent manslaughter, the Associated Press, German news outlet ...
- Maze ransomware now encrypts via virtual machines to evade detection
September 17, 2020
The Maze ransomware operators have adopted a tactic previously used by the Ragnar Locker gang; to encrypt a computer from within a virtual machine. In May, we previously reported that Ragnar Locker was seen encrypting files through VirtualBox Windows XP virtual machines to bypass security software on the host. The virtual machine would mount a host’s drives ...
- Alert issued to UK universities and colleges about spike in cyber attacks
September 17, 2020
British universities and colleges have been warned about a spike in ransomware attacks targeting the education sector by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ. Academic institutions are being urged to follow NCSC guidance following a sharp increase in attacks which have left some teachers fearing they won’t be able to accept ...
- New MrbMiner malware has infected thousands of MSSQL databases
September 16, 2020
A new malware gang has made a name for itself over the past few months by hacking into Microsoft SQL Servers (MSSQL) and installing a crypto-miner. Thousands of MSSQL databases have been infected so far, according to the cybersecurity arm of Chinese tech giant Tencent. In a report published earlier this month, Tencent Security has named this ...
- Boosting Impact for Profit: Evolving Ransomware Techniques for Targeted Attacks
September 15, 2020
While more enterprises have adjusted to the new normal, so have cybercriminals who take advantage of the ever-changing work, home, and security landscape. As described in our 2020 Midyear Roundup, the numbers pertaining to ransomware no longer tell the story at first glance. While the number of infections, company disclosures, and ransomware families has gone ...
- Netwalker ransomware hits Pakistan’s largest private power utility
September 8, 2020
K-Electric, the sole electricity provider for Karachi, Pakistan, has suffered a Netwalker ransomware attack that led to the disruption of billing and online services. K-Electric is Pakistan’s largest power supplier, serving 2.5 million customers and employing over 10 thousand people. Starting yesterday, K-Electric customers have been unable to access the online services for their account. To resolve this ...
- Newcastle University students’ data held to ransom by cyber criminals
September 8, 2020
Newcastle University is being held to ransom by cyber criminals in an attack which has been disrupting IT systems since the beginning of the month. The cyber crime group behind the attack – known as DoppelPaymer – previously leaked documents online relating to Elon Musk’s companies SpaceX and Tesla. The criminals have posted stolen files from the ...
- France warns of Emotet attacking companies, administration
September 7, 2020
The French national cyber-security agency today published an alert warning of a surge in Emotet attacks targeting the private sector and public administration entities throughout the country. French public administration has three sub-sectors: central public administrations (APUC), local government (LUFA), and social security administrations (ASSO). Emotet, originally a run-of-the-mill banking Trojan first spotted in 2014, is now ...