Ransom Demands Return: New DDoS Extortion Threats From Old Actors Targeting Finance and Retail

Update 08/24/2020 As mentioned below, the Akamai SIRT has been tracking attacks from the so-called Armada Collective and Fancy Bear actors, who are sending ransom letters to various industry verticals such as finance, travel, and e-commerce. In addition to the...

Empty DDoS Threats Still Net Attackers $100,000

With some members of the so-called Armada Collective in jail, another actor has decided to co-opt their technique of sending threatening DDoS extortion messages to businesses worldwide. Only difference is, this group isn’t following through with its threat, and it’s still collecting serious money...

DDoS Extortionists made $100,000 without Launching a Single Attack

In Brief Cyber crooks find a new and ingenious way to make hundreds of thousands of dollars with no effort. An unknown cyber gang, pretending to be Armada Collective, has made more than $100,000 in less than two months simply by threatening to launch DDoS attack on websites, but never actually...

Experts Say Bitcoin Extortionist Copycats on the Rise

Experts believe that the success tied to a recent spate of DDoS-for-hire groups may be because many are copycat collectives operating with a shorter lifespan. Researchers with Recorded Future, a Massachusetts-based firm that tracks real time threat intelligence, said Monday that they’ve noticed a...

ProtonMail Back Online Following Six Day DDoS Attack

Encrypted email service ProtonMail is back online today following a crippling six-day attack that saw the company’s ISPs and data centers under siege. Operators behind the service said the site may not always be reachable, as its servers are still under heavy strain and mitigating attack, and tha...