BianLian ransomware ramps up data-leak extortion and improves operational security

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary BianLian ransomware group is ramping up data-leak extortion to extract payments, using similar tactics & a custom backdoor, and bringing 30 new C2 servers online monthly. To receive real-time threat...

What's Wrong with Manufacturing?

In last year's edition of the Security Navigator we noted that the Manufacturing Industry appeared to be totally over-represented in our dataset of Cyber Extortion victims. Neither the number of businesses nor their average revenue particularly stood out to explain this. Manufacturing was also th...

What's Wrong with Manufacturing?

In last year's edition of the Security Navigator we noted that the Manufacturing Industry appeared to be totally over-represented in our dataset of Cyber Extortion victims. Neither the number of businesses nor their average revenue particularly stood out to explain this. Manufacturing was also th...

Two U.S. Men Charged in 2022 Hacking of DEA Portal

Two U.S. men have been charged with hacking into a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency DEA online portal that taps into 16 different federal law enforcement databases. Both are alleged to be part of a larger criminal organization that specializes in using fake emergency data requests from compromised...

Royal Ransomware Targets Organizations with Custom Encryption and Double Extortion Tactics

Threat Level Attack Report Follow Hive Pro for a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here from HiveForce Labs. Summary Since September 2022, threat actors have been attacking both US and international organizations using a version of ransomware called Royal. This ransomware is unique...

Dutch Police Arrest 3 Hackers Involved in Massive Data Theft and Extortion Scheme

The Dutch police announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a "large-scale" criminal operation involving data theft, extortion, and money laundering. The suspects include two 21-year-old men from Zandvoort and Rotterdam and an 18-year-old man without a permanent residence. The...

Dutch Police Arrest 3 Hackers Involved in Massive Data Theft and Extortion Scheme

The Dutch police announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a "large-scale" criminal operation involving data theft, extortion, and money laundering. The suspects include two 21-year-old men from Zandvoort and Rotterdam and an 18-year-old man without a permanent residence. The...

Arrested: Fearmongering data thieves who victimized thousands of businesses

The Dutch police have announced the arrest of three more suspects in one of the biggest data extortion cases to date. The men, all aged between 18 and 21, were allegedly involved in extorting businesses and selling stolen data to other criminals. During a two-year investigation the police learned...

HardBit Ransomware: A Threatening Cyber Attack Targeting Organizations with New Version 2.0

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary HardBit is a ransomware strain that focuses on extorting cryptocurrency payments from organizations in exchange for data decryption. It first emerged in October 2022, and a newer version, HardBit 2.0,...

Honeypot-Factory: The Use of Deception in ICS/OT Environments

The recently published Security Navigator report of Orange Cyberdefense shows there has been a rapid increase of attacks on industrial control systems ICS in the past few years. Looking a bit closer, most of the attacks seem to have spilt over from traditional IT. That's to be expected, as...

CISA issues alert with South Korean government about DPRK's ransomware antics

CISA and other federal agencies were joined by the National Intelligence Service NIS and the Defense Security Agency of the Republic of Korea ROK in releasing the latest cybersecurity advisory in the US government's ongoing StopRansomware effort. This alert highlights continuous state-sponsored...

Trigona Ransomware’s Rampant Threat to Businesses

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary Trigona has gained momentum lately due to its utilization of the double-extortion technique of encrypting crucial assets within an organization, including endpoints and infrastructure, and demanding...

Ransomware Revolution: 4 Types of Cyber Risks in 2023

The ransomware business model is poised to change. These four predictions could help to keep your organization secure from new forms of cyber extortion...

Sydney Man Sentenced for Blackmailing Optus Customers After Data Breach

A Sydney man has been sentenced to an 18-month Community Correction Order CCO and 100 hours of community service for attempting to take advantage of the Optus data breach last year to blackmail its customers. The unnamed individual, 19 when arrested in October 2022 and now 20, used the leaked...

KrebsOnSecurity in Upcoming Hulu Series on Ashley Madison Breach

KrebsOnSecurity will likely have a decent amount of screen time in an upcoming Hulu documentary series about the 2015 megabreach at marital infidelity site Ashley Madison. While I cant predict what the producers will do with the video interviews we shot, its fair to say the series will explore...

Nokoyawa 2.0 A Reworked Rust-Based Ransomware

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary Nokoyawa is a 64-bit Windows-based ransomware family that first appeared in early February 2022. The threat group behind Nokoyawa conducts double-extortion ransomware attacks, first stealing data from...

FIN7 Cybercrime Syndicate Emerges as a Major Player in Ransomware Landscape

An exhaustive analysis of FIN7 has unmasked the cybercrime syndicate's organizational hierarchy, alongside unraveling its role as an affiliate for mounting ransomware attacks. It has also exposed deeper associations between the group and the larger threat ecosystem comprising the now-defunct...

Hackers Breach Okta's GitHub Repositories, Steal Source Code

Okta, a company that provides identity and access management services, disclosed on Wednesday that some of its source code repositories were accessed in an unauthorized manner earlier this month. "There is no impact to any customers, including any HIPAA, FedRAMP, or DoD customers," the company sa...

Prevent Cryptocurrency Cyber Extortion

Highly destructive cybercrime is on the rise, and most of it is being funded with anonymous cryptocurrency. We review cryptocurrency trends and how enterprises can enhance their cybersecurity posture to prevent cyber extortion...

Virtual kidnapping scam strikes again. Spot the signs

Warnings abound of a major new piece of fraud doing the rounds which uses your relatives voice as part of a blackmail scam. What happens is the victim receives a call from said relatives number, and theyre cut off by blackmailers who have them held hostage. The only way to get them back safely is...