Ransomware Payments and Sanctions - U.S. Treasury Advisory

On Oct. 1, the United States Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC issued an advisory concerning ransomware payments and sanctions regulations. The advisory warned that paying ransoms to sanctioned persons and entities risks violating the law. It also notes that OFAC may impos...

Malware Families Turn to Legit Pastebin-Like Service

Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to a legitimate, Pastebin-like web service for downloading malware — such as AgentTesla and LimeRAT — in spear-phishing attacks. Pastebin, a code-hosting service that enables users to share plain text through public posts called “pastes,” currently has 17...

A week in security (September 28 – October 4)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we dug into what happens when card fraud comes calling, we gave a rundown on some novel ransomware attacks that took advantage of smart coffee makers, and we introduced VideoBytes, our new, monthly series in which well provide video coverage of some of the...

Paying Evil Corp Ransomware Might Land You a Big Federal Fine

Plus: A Grindr bug, a Joker explosion, and more of the week's top security news...

Egregor Ransomware Threatens 'Mass-Media' Release of Corporate Data

A freshly discovered family of ransomware called Egregor has been spotted in the wild, using a tactic of siphoning off corporate information and threatening a “mass-media” release of it before encrypting all files. Egregor is an occult term meant to signify the collective energy or force of a gro...

Attacks Aimed at Disrupting the Trickbot Botnet

Over the past 10 days, someone has been launching a series of coordinated attacks designed to disrupt Trickbot, an enormous collection of more than two million malware-infected Windows PCs that are constantly being harvested for financial data and are often used as the entry point for deploying...

Researchers Mixed on Sanctions for Ransomware Negotiators

Ransomware negotiators may have to pay up in new ways if they intercede with cybercriminals on companies’ behalf. Several researchers weighed in on the wisdom of the move, with mixed reactions. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Thursday that companies that facilitate ransomware payments to...

VideoBytes: Ransomware gets wasted!

Hello dear readers, and welcome to the latest edition of VideoBytes! On todays episode, were talking about how ransomware is on the rise again, focused on attacking corporations with malware that not only encrypts files, but also steals it. The tactics used to deploy these forms of ransomware hav...

Department of Treasury Releases Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC has released an Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments. Financial institutions, cyber insurance firms, and companies that facilitate payments on behalf of victims may be violating OFAC...

Emotet Emails Strike Thousands of DNC Volunteers

On Thursday, hundreds of U.S. organizations were targeted by an Emotet spear-phishing campaign, which sent thousands of emails purporting to be from the Democratic National Committee and recruiting potential Democratic volunteers. Emotet has historically utilized a variety of lure themes leveragi...

NFL, NBA Players Hacked in Would-Be Cyber-Slam-Dunk

NFL and NBA athletes whose social-media accounts were taken over have been thrown the ball of justice. Multiple professional and semi-pro athletes were victimized by two men who infiltrated their personal accounts, according to testimony in federal court on Wednesday. Trevontae Washington of...

Chaos in a cup: When ransomware creeps into your smart coffee maker

When the fledgling concept of the Internet of Things IoT was beginning to excite the world almost a decade ago, perhaps no coffee lover at that time wouldve imagined including the coffee machine in the roster of internet-connected devices—even in jest. True, the simple, utilitarian coffee machine...

Ransomware Victims That Pay Up Could Incur Steep Fines from Uncle Sam

Companies victimized by ransomware and firms that facilitate negotiations with ransomware extortionists could face steep fines from the U.S. federal government if the crooks who profit from the attack are already under economic sanctions, the Treasury Department warned today. Image: Shutterstock ...

Introducing VideoBytes, by Malwarebytes Labs

We have exciting news for avid readers of Malwarebytes Labs: This week, we’re launching a new, monthly video series that will feature the research, insights, and commentary of our own Adam Kujawa, security evangelist and a director for Malwarebytes Labs. Welcome to VideoBytes, our little corner o...

Negotiating with Ransomware Gangs

Really interesting conversation with someone who negotiates with ransomware gangs: For now, it seems that paying ransomware, while obviously risky and empowering/encouraging ransomware attackers, can perhaps be comported so as not to break any laws like anti-terrorist laws, FCPA, conspiracy and...

CISA and MS-ISAC Release Ransomware Guide

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA and the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center MS-ISAC have released a joint Ransomware Guide that details practices that organizations should continuously engage in to help manage the risk posed by ransomware and other cyber...

Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2020: Cyber Threat Sophistication on the Rise

Today, Microsoft is releasing a new annual report, called the Digital Defense Report, covering cybersecurity trends from the past year. This report makes it clear that threat actors have rapidly increased in sophistication over the past year, using techniques that make them harder to spot and tha...

Las Vegas Students' Personal Data Leaked, Post-Ransomware Attack

Personal information for students in the Clark County School District, which includes Las Vegas, has reportedly turned up on an underground forum, following a ransomware attack that researchers say was carried out by the Maze gang. In early September, the Associated Press reported that the distri...

A Ransomware Attack Has Struck a Major US Hospital Chain

“All computers are completely shut down,” one Universal Health Services employee told WIRED...

Universal Health Services Ransomware Attack Impacts Hospitals Nationwide

A ransomware attack has shut down Universal Health Services, a Fortune-500 owner of a nationwide network of hospitals. The attack occurred in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, according to reports coming in from employees on Reddit and other platforms. On Reddit, a discussion with hundreds ...