Google Sues Chinese Smishing Network Accused of Using Gemini AI in Phishing

Google on Friday said it's pursuing legal action against a Chinese cybercrime network, accusing it of using its Gemini artificial intelligence AI agent to send phishing text messages targeting Americans. The network is said to be behind the development and management of a phishing-as-a-service...

First VPN Dismantled in Global Takedown Over Use by 25 Ransomware Groups

Authorities in Europe and North America have announced the dismantling of a criminal virtual private network VPN service used by criminal actors to obscure the origins of ransomware attacks, data theft, scanning, and denial-of-service attacks. Codenamed Operation Saffron, the disruption of First...

Operation PowerOFF Seizes 53 DDoS Domains, Exposes 3 Million Criminal Accounts

An international law enforcement operation has taken down 53 domains and arrested four people in connection with commercial distributed denial-of-service DDoS operations that were used by more than 75,000 cybercriminals. The ongoing effort, dubbed Operation PowerOFF , disrupted access to the...

The Post-RAMP Era: Allegations, Fragmentation, and the Rebuilding of the Ransomware Underground

Executive summary The January 2026 seizure of RAMP disrupted a major ransomware coordination hub, but it did not dismantle the ecosystem behind it. Instead, it destabilized trust and accelerated fragmentation across the underground. Rather than consolidating around a single successor, ransomware...

Microsoft Legal Action Disrupts RedVDS Cybercrime Infrastructure Used for Online Fraud

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it has taken a "coordinated legal action" in the U.S. and the U.K. to disrupt a cybercrime subscription service called RedVDS that has allegedly fueled millions in fraud losses. The effort, per the tech giant, is part of a broader law enforcement effort in...

Q2 2025 Ransomware Trends Analysis: Boom and Bust

“Tumultous times” would be an accurate summary of Q2 2025 where ransomware threat actors are concerned. Rapid7’s internal and publicly-available data analysis reveals a dynamic environment where major players come and go, newer groups work their way up the heavy-hitters ladder, and threat actors...

300 Servers and €3.5M Seized as Europol Strikes Ransomware Networks Worldwide

As part of the latest "season" of Operation Endgame, a coalition of law enforcement agencies have taken down about 300 servers worldwide, neutralized 650 domains, and issued arrest warrants against 20 targets. Operation Endgame, first launched in May 2024, is an ongoing law enforcement operation...

Operation RapTor: 270 Arrested in Global Crackdown on Dark Web Vendors

Global crackdown: Operation RapTor leads to 270 arrests, millions seized as law enforcement targets dark web drug, weapon, and crypto vendors...

Europol, Poland Bust Major DDoS-for-Hire Operation, Arrest 4

Polish authorities arrest 4 behind major DDoS-for-hire sites used in global attacks. Europol, US, Germany, and Dutch forces…...

Cyber Threat Landscape Q&A with Trellix Head of Threat Intelligence John Fokker

Cyber Threat Landscape Q&A with Trellix Head of Threat Intelligence John Fokker By Trellix · January 27, 2025 As we step into 2025, it's time to reflect on the seismic changes that shaped the cybersecurity landscape in 2024 and anticipate what's on the horizon for 2025. The past year saw...

Authorities Shut Down 27 DDoS-for-Hire Platforms, Arrest 3 Admins

Just in time for the holidays!...

FBI Creates Fake Cryptocurrency to Expose Widespread Crypto Market Manipulation

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ has announced arrests and charges against several individuals and entities in connection with allegedly manipulating digital asset markets as part of a widespread fraud operation. The law enforcement action – codenamed Operation Token Mirrors – is the result of...

Ransomware review: March 2024

This article is based on research by Marcelo Rivero, Malwarebytes ransomware specialist, who monitors information published by ransomware gangs on their Dark Web sites. In this report, "known attacks" are those where the victim did not pay a ransom. This provides the best overall picture of...

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Sinbad Cryptocurrency Mixer Used by North Korean Hackers

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions against Sinbad, a virtual currency mixer that has been put to use by the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group to launder ill-gotten proceeds. "Sinbad has processed millions of dollars' worth of virtual currency from Lazarus Group heists,...

Ziggy Ransomware Gang Offers Refunds to Victims

The Ziggy ransomware gang announced in early February they were getting out of the cybercrime business. Now they say they’re ready to refund their victims’ money. Anyone who paid a ransom to Ziggy just needs to shoot them an email with proof of payment calculated in Bitcoin and the computer ID...

Stalkerware developer dealt new blow by FTC

Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission FTC interpreted its broad consumer protection mandate to file a first-of-its-kind enforcement action against the developer of three mobile stalkerware applications. The developer was banned from further selling the apps unless significant changes were ma...

Alleged SIM Swapper Arrested in California

Authorities in Santa Clara, Calif. have arrested and charged a 19-year-old area man on suspicion hijacking mobile phone numbers as part of a scheme to steal large sums of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The arrest is the third known law enforcement action this month targeting "SIM swappers,"...

Target Says SEC Won't Pursue Enforcement Action as a Result of Data Breach

Target officials say that the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of several U.S. agencies investigating the massive data breach at the company in 2013, has decided not to punish Target as a result of the breach. The Target data breach is one of the larger such incidents ever. The breach...

FBI Plans to Chase Online Money Mules

The FBI’s top anti-cyber crime official today said the agency is planning a law enforcement action against so-called “money mules,” individuals willingly or unwittingly roped into helping organized computer crooks launder money stolen through online banking fraud. Read the full article...