Incident Response trends Q2 2023: Data theft extortion rises, while healthcare is still most-targeted vertical

Cisco Talos Incident Response Talos IR responded to a growing number of data theft extortion incidents that did not involve encrypting files or deploying ransomware, a 25 percent increase since last quarter and the most-observed threat in the second quarter of 2023. In this type of attack, threat...

Estée Lauder targeted by Cl0p and BlackCat ransomware groups

Estee Lauder is currently at the heart of a compromise storm, revealing a major security issue via a Security Exchange Commission SEC filing on Tuesday. Although no detailed explanation of what has taken place is given, there is confirmation that an attack allowed access to some systems and...

Mallox Ransomware Exploits Weak MS-SQL Servers to Breach Networks

Mallox ransomware activities in 2023 have witnessed a 174% increase when compared to the previous year, new findings from Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 reveal. "Mallox ransomware, like many other ransomware threat actors, follows the double extortion trend: stealing data before encrypting an...

Multiple Extortion: An Existential Threat

Explore effective strategies and comprehensive cybersecurity measures to protect your organization’s data from increasingly sophisticated cybercrimes...

Owner of BreachForums Pleads Guilty to Cybercrime and Child Pornography Charges

Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, the owner of the now-defunct BreachForums website, has pleaded guilty to charges related to his operation of the cybercrime forum as well as having child pornography images. The development, first reported by DataBreaches.net last week, comes nearly four months after...

Ransomware making big money through "big game hunting"

Ransomware generates big money for the groups behind it, with new research confirming some of the scale of the problem. Chainalysis, a blockchain research firm, looked at data from monitored cryptocurrency wallets, concluding that around $449 million has been taken from victims in the last six...

Ransomware Extortion Skyrockets in 2023, Reaching $449.1 Million and Counting

Ransomware has emerged as the only cryptocurrency-based crime to grow in 2023, with cybercriminals extorting nearly $175.8 million more than they did a year ago, according to findings from Chainalysis. "Ransomware attackers are on pace for their second-biggest year ever, having extorted at least...

Another Critical Unauthenticated SQLi Flaw Discovered in MOVEit Transfer Software

Progress Software has announced the discovery and patching of a critical SQL injection vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer, popular software used for secure file transfer. In addition, Progress Software has patched two other high-severity vulnerabilities. The identified SQL injection vulnerability,...

8Base Ransomware Spikes in Activity, Threatens U.S. and Brazilian Businesses

A ransomware threat called 8Base that has been operating under the radar for over a year has been attributed to a "massive spike in activity" in May and June 2023. "The group utilizes encryption paired with 'name-and-shame' techniques to compel their victims to pay their ransoms," VMware Carbon...

8Base Ransomware Spikes in Activity, Threatens U.S. and Brazilian Businesses

A ransomware threat called 8Base that has been operating under the radar for over a year has been attributed to a "massive spike in activity" in May and June 2023. "The group utilizes encryption paired with 'name-and-shame' techniques to compel their victims to pay their ransoms," VMware Carbon...

Black Basta ransomware

What is Black Basta ransomware? Black Basta is a threat group that provides ransomware-as-a-service RaaS. The service is maintained by dedicated developers and is a highly efficient and professionally run operation; theres a TOR website that provides a victim login portal, a chat room, and a wall...

U.K. Cyber Thug “PlugwalkJoe” Gets 5 Years in Prison

Joseph James "PlugwalkJoe" OConnor, a 24-year-old from the United Kingdom who earned his 15 minutes of fame by participating in the July 2020 hack of Twitter, has been sentenced to five years in a U.S. prison. That may seem like harsh punishment for a brief and very public cyber joy ride. But...

Black Cat ransomware group wants $4.5m from Reddit or will leak stolen files

The ramifications of a Reddit breach which occurred back in February are now being felt, with the attackers threatening to leak the stolen data. The February attack, billed as a "sophisticated phishing campaign" by Reddit, involved an attempt to swipe credentials and two-factor authentication...

20-Year-Old Russian LockBit Ransomware Affiliate Arrested in Arizona

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ on Thursday unveiled charges against a Russian national for his alleged involvement in deploying LockBit ransomware to targets in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and Africa. Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, 20, of Chechen Republic has been accused of perpetrating at least...

Third Flaw Uncovered in MOVEit Transfer App Amidst Cl0p Ransomware Mass Attack

Progress Software on Thursday disclosed a third vulnerability impacting its MOVEit Transfer application, as the Cl0p cybercrime gang deployed extortion tactics against affected companies. The new flaw, which is being tracked as CVE-2023-35708 , also concerns an SQL injection vulnerability that...

To Fight Cyber Extortion and Ransomware, Shift Left

How can organizations defend themselves more effectively against ransomware and other forms of cyber extortion? By “shifting left” and adopting proactive cybersecurity strategies to detect attacks sooner, mitigating breaches before they cause harm...

What does it mean when ransomware actors use “double extortion” tactics?

It is no longer enough for ransomware actors to encrypt targets files, ask for money, and get out. Over the past several years, these groups are increasingly relying on "double extortion" tactics to try and coax their victims into paying the requested ransom, or else they will leak stolen data to...

UK’s Ofcom confirms cyber attack as PoC exploit for MOVEit is released

By Waqas Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, is the latest victim of the infamous Cl0p extortion gang, who have been exploiting MOVEit vulnerabilities to target high-profile firms. This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: UKs Ofcom confirms cyber attack as PoC exploit for MOVE...

Clop Ransomware Gang Likely Aware of MOVEit Transfer Vulnerability Since 2021

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA and Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI have published a joint advisory regarding the active exploitation of a recently disclosed critical flaw in Progress Software's MOVEit Transfer application to drop ransomware. "The Cl0p Ransomwar...

Warning: Victims' faces placed on explicit images in sextortion scam

The FBI has issued a warning about criminals digitally manipulating people's faces on to pornographic images--known as deepfaking--and then using those images to harass or extort money out of their victim in a practice known as sextortion. The FBI said the victims include children. From the...