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...

Cl0p ransomware gang claims first victims of the MOVEit vulnerability

On Friday June 2, 2023 we reported about a MOVEit Transfer vulnerability that was actively being exploited. If your organization uses MOVEit Transfer and you havent patched yet, it really is time to move it. Excuse the bad pun, but yesterday we saw the first victims of this vulnerability come...

Xollam, the Latest Face of TargetCompany

This blog talks about the latest TargetCompany ransomware variant, Xollam, and the new initial access technique it uses. We also investigate previous variants' behaviors and the ransomware family's extortion scheme...

New Linux Ransomware Strain BlackSuit Shows Striking Similarities to Royal

An analysis of the Linux variant of a new ransomware strain called BlackSuit has covered significant similarities with another ransomware family called Royal. Trend Micro, which examined an x64 VMware ESXi version targeting Linux machines, said it identified an "extremely high degree of similarit...

New Linux Ransomware Strain BlackSuit Shows Striking Similarities to Royal

An analysis of the Linux variant of a new ransomware strain called BlackSuit has covered significant similarities with another ransomware family called Royal. Trend Micro, which examined an x64 VMware ESXi version targeting Linux machines, said it identified an "extremely high degree of similarit...

Improved BlackCat Ransomware Strikes with Lightning Speed and Stealthy Tactics

The threat actors behind BlackCat ransomware have come up with an improved variant that prioritizes speed and stealth in an attempt to bypass security guardrails and achieve their goals. The new version, dubbed Sphynx and announced in February 2023, packs a "number of updated capabilities that...

Improved BlackCat Ransomware Strikes with Lightning Speed and Stealthy Tactics

The threat actors behind BlackCat ransomware have come up with an improved variant that prioritizes speed and stealth in an attempt to bypass security guardrails and achieve their goals. The new version, dubbed Sphynx and announced in February 2023, packs a "number of updated capabilities that...

Advanced BlackCat Ransomware Using Triple Extortion Tactics and Signed Kernel Driver

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary The BlackCat ransomware operation is a highly sophisticated and customizable threat targeting corporate environments, featuring advanced encryption, spreading capabilities, and triple extortion tactics. ...

Notorious Cyber Gang FIN7 Returns With Cl0p Ransomware in New Wave of Attacks

The notorious cybercrime group known as FIN7 has been observed deploying Cl0p aka Clop ransomware, marking the threat actor's first ransomware campaign since late 2021. Microsoft, which detected the activity in April 2023, is tracking the financially motivated actor under its new taxonomy Sangria...

Leaked Babuk ransomware builder code lives on as RA Group

The bones of long gone ransomware group Babuk continue to rattle in the breeze, in the form of reused code. Researchers from Cisco Talos have named this new team the "RA Group", a ransomware collective which may have only been up and running since last month. Babuk famously threatened to leak law...

China-Taiwan Tensions Spark Surge in Cyberattacks on Taiwan

China-Taiwan Tensions Spark Surge in Cyberattacks on Taiwan By Daksh Kapur, Leandro Velasco · May 17, 2023 Figure 1 image from freepik.com “In the past few years, we noticed that geopolitical conflicts are one of the main drivers for cyber-attacks on a variety of industries and institutions...

Inside Qilin Ransomware: Affiliates Take Home 85% of Ransom Payouts

Ransomware affiliates associated with the Qilin ransomware-as-a-service RaaS scheme earn anywhere between 80% to 85% of each ransom payment, according to new findings from Group-IB. The cybersecurity firm said it was able to infiltrate the group in March 2023, uncovering details about the...

Inside Qilin Ransomware: Affiliates Take Home 85% of Ransom Payouts

Ransomware affiliates associated with the Qilin ransomware-as-a-service RaaS scheme earn anywhere between 80% to 85% of each ransom payment, according to new findings from Group-IB. The cybersecurity firm said it was able to infiltrate the group in March 2023, uncovering details about the...

CISA and Partners Release BianLian Ransomware Cybersecurity Advisory

CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, and the Australian Cyber Security Centre ACSC have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory CSA with known BianLian ransomware and data extortion group technical details. Microsoft and Sophos contributed to the advisory. To reduce the likelihood and...

#StopRansomware: BianLian Ransomware Group

Actions to take today to mitigate cyber threats from BianLian ransomware and data extortion: 1. Strictly limit the use of RDP and other remote desktop services. 2. Disable command-line and scripting activities and permissions. 3. Restrict usage of PowerShell and update Windows PowerShell or...

Newly identified RA Group compromises companies in U.S. and South Korea with leaked Babuk source code

Cisco Talos recently discovered a new ransomware actor called RA Group that has been operating since at least April 22, 2023. The actor is swiftly expanding its operations. To date, the group has compromised three organizations in the U.S. and one in South Korea across several business verticals,...