Tag: chainalysis
Police rounding up LabHost users
International law enforcement is hailing last week’s bust of LabHost, the world’s largest phishing-as-a-service platform, as a major victory in the war against cybercrime. In addition to multiple arrests, the Europol-co-ordinated investigation also unearthed the identities of around 10,000 users of the illegal site, many of whom are now already under police investigation. The year-long investigation, led by the UK’s London Metropolitan Police, resulted in the arrest of 37 suspects worldwide following Europol-coordinated raids across 70 addresses worldwide. Partners in the investigation also included Chainalysis, Intel 471, Microsoft, The Shadowserver Foundation, and Trend Micro.
Ransomware payments top US$1 billion in 2023
Last year, ransomware payments topped US$1 billion for the first time. According to a report from blockchain analyst firm Chainalysis, in 2023 ransomware gangs reached “an unprecedented milestone” in extorted cryptocurrency payments. “This number does not capture the economic impact of productivity loss and repair costs associated with attacks. This is evident in cases like the ALPHV-BlackCat and Scattered Spider’s bold targeting of MGM resorts. While MGM did not pay the ransom, it estimates damages cost the business over US$100 million,” warns the report.
Ransomware Payments Reach a Collective Payout Estimated at $1B in 2023 – February 8th
According to Chainalysis, the estimated total value received by ransomware attackers reached $1.1B in 2023. The Chainalysis report also states that the estimated $1.1B only pertains to ransomware demands collected, and does not account for operational and third-party disruption costs.
Government Vulnerabilities Grow by 151% – January 26th
According to a Bugcrowd report, no other sector saw as much vulnerability growth as the government sector, which saw a 151% surge and a 58% rise in critical vulnerabilities. Following the government sector were the retail (+34%), corporate services (+20%), and computer software (+12%) sectors.
North Korea steals $40m in cryptocurrency in one day
On Tuesday (August 22), the FBI announced that cybercrime groups directly linked to the North Korean government had stolen $40 million worth of cryptocurrency in a single day. The heist is said to be the work of TraderTraitor-affiliated actors (also known as Lazarus Group and APT38).