Swiss Star: extortion virus is a new variant after the poisoning 1 0 5 4 full file encryption-vulnerability warning-the black bar safety net

Recently, the rising“cloud security”system intercepted a new type of blackmail Virus, the virus encrypts files up to 1 0 5 4, file Unified encryption for. encrypted format, thus a ransom of 1 bitcoinabout RMB 4 5 0 0 Yuan. If the user is not within the prescribed time hack payment, the encrypted...

What does the FBI have to say about ransomware

The FBI provided guidance on ransomware at a recent FBI/US Secret Service/ISAC event. They defined ransomware as a type of malware that is commonly transmitted through malicious email, which is disguised to look normal. Once the email link has been clicked on, or an email attachment has been...

37-Year-Old 'Syrian Electronic Army' Hacker Pleads Guilty in US court

One of the FBI's Most Wanted Hackers who was arrested in Germany earlier this year has pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in a scheme that hacked computers and targeted the US government, foreign governments, and multiple US media outlets. Peter Romar, 37, pleaded guilty Wednesday in ...

MarsJoke Ransomware Targets .EDU, .GOV Agencies

New ransomware has surfaced that targets state and local government agencies, and educational institutions that are less likely to have big budgets to ward off or mitigate threats, according to researchers. The ransomware, called MarsJoke, was detected in a large-scale email campaign last week th...

FBI Encouraging Ransomware Victims To Report Infections

The Federal Bureau of Investigation this week urged victims of ransomware to report infections to federal law enforcement in hopes of better understanding the threat. The agency, in tandem with the Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3, issued a public service announcement on Thursday asking...

Insecure Redis Instances at Core of Attacks Against Linux Servers

A recent run of attacks against Linux servers called Fairware has been traced to insecure internet-facing Redis installations that hackers have abused to delete web folders and, in some cases, install malicious code. Redis is an open source tool used by web application developers for the purpose ...

Linux Webserver Folders Deleted in Fairware Attacks

Linux server admins are reporting attacks resulting in the disappearance of the server’s web folder and websites being down indefinitely. Posts to the forums on the BleepingComputer website corroborate a number of such attacks, most likely intrusions powered by brute-force attacks against SSH,...

Dutch, Belgian Ransomware Wildfire Disrupted, Decryption Keys Posted

The No More Ransom initiative released decryption keys for yet another strain of ransomware this week; now victims of the mostly Dutch-leaning ransomware called WildFire can get their files back without paying attackers. According to an update from the Dutch National Police on Wednesday, when it...

First-Ever Ransomware For Smart Thermostat is Here — It's Hot!

Internet of Things IoT is the latest buzz in the world of technology, but they are much easier to hack than you think. Until now we have heard many scary stories of hacking IoT devices, but how realistic is the threat? Just think of a scenario where you enter in your house, and it's sweltering, b...

Public, Private Sector Team to Fight Ransomware

Knowing where to turn for help when victimized by ransomware isn’t always clear. Should you pay the ransom? Are there alternatives to getting your precious data back? Who can you turn to for help? In an effort to answer those questions and help victims retrieve data encrypted by ransomware a uniq...

Europol and IT Security Companies Team Up to Combat Ransomware Threat

No More Ransom, so is the Ransomware Threat. The European Police agency Europol has joined forces with police and cyber security companies to launch a worldwide initiative to combat and tackle together the exponential growth of Ransomware used by cyber criminals. Europol announced today the...

Zero-Day Warning! Ransomware targets Microsoft Office 365 Users

If just relying on the security tools of Microsoft Office 365 can protect you from cyber attacks, you are wrong. Variants of Cerber Ransomware are now targeting MS Office 365 email users with a massive zero-day attack that has the ability to bypass Office 365's built-in security tools. According ...

New CryptXXX Can Evade Detection, Outsmart Decryption Tools

Tweet Crooks behind the fast spreading CryptXXX ransomware updated the latest variant with better encryption technology and new methods to evade detection by researchers. This latest version of CryptXXX was spotted by researchers at SentinelOne that say the new updated sample has already earned...

RAA Ransomware Composed Entirely of JavaScript

We’ve already seen ransomware take on many forms this year, but researchers this week claim they’ve noticed a new strain unlike any they’ve seen prior–a type composed entirely of JavaScript. The ransomware, dubbed RAA by researchers, has been circulating through attachments masquerading as Word...

University of Calgary Pays $20,000 Following Ransomware Attack

Officials at the University of Calgary admitted this week that the school recently paid $20,000 CDN to rid its systems of ransomware that hampered productivity for 10 days. Linda Dalgetty, the school’s VP of Finance and Services, acknowledged via press release on Wednesday that the school paid th...

IC3 Warns of Extortion Email Schemes

The Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 has issued an alert on extortion schemes that relate to recent high-profile data thefts. Fraudsters often use the news release of high-profile data breaches to scare victims into clicking on a link or paying a ransom. US-CERT encourages users and...

Ransomware Activity Spikes in March, Steadily increasing throughout 2016

UPDATE June 15, 2016: This post has been updated to include new data on ransomware activity, which is also now broken down by region. Cyber extortion for financial gain is typically carried out in one of two ways. The first method is a business disruption attack – a category we discussed at lengt...

Malware-Laced Porn Apps Behind Wave of Android Lockscreen Attacks

Incidents of Android lockscreen malware masquerading as porn apps are a growing concern to security analysts who are forecasting an uptick in attacks. Once infected, Android users bitten by this malware appear to be locked out of their device and are forced to undergo a complex extraction of the...

Petya Ransomware Installs Mischa As Failsafe

The Petya ransomware strain signaled a new escalation for crypto-malware when it surfaced in March. For the first time, ransomware went beyond encrypting files on local and shared drives and instead set its sights on locking up the Master File Table on compromised machines. Petya did have its...

FBI Issues Ransomware Warning

The FBI has issued a warning to businesses about the relentless wave of ransomware. The bulletin includes preventative tips, and an affirmation of the bureau’s stance that companies affected by cryptoransomware attacks in particular should not succumb to temptation and pay their attackers off. Th...