Tag: cybercrime
Cyberattack Halts Albanian Parliament Data System – December 29th
Albania's Parliament announced it was hit by a cyberattack targeting its data system, resulting in halting the Parliament's services. The Albanian Parliament assured that although disrupted, the data was not encrypted by the threat actors and that their services would go back online soon.
AI “overrated and overhyped” say cybercriminals
The verdict on artificial intelligence (AI) from the real experts is finally in; professional cybercriminal fraternities have judged AI to be “overrated, overhyped and redundant,” according to fresh research from cybersecurity firm Sophos. It has, hitherto, been accepted wisdom in the cybersecurity industry that cybercriminals, free from any regulatory authority or moral scruples, were among the first to harness the awesome power of AI to create bespoke and virtually unstoppable malware. However, having infiltrated the Dark Web forums where top professional cybercriminals discuss their trade, Sophos reports that the cybercrime sector has thoroughly tested the capabilities of AI and found it wanting.
IT security responsible for 14% of cyber-breaches
A staggering 14 percent of cyber incidents are due to senior IT security staff errors, compounded by a further 15% of errors caused by other IT staff. According to a new study published by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, over the last two years, 77 percent of companies experienced between one and six cybersecurity breaches, with IT security staff being directly culpable for almost a third of all cybersecurity breaches.
Ransomware gang turns SEC informant
When a top mob boss turns his co-criminals over to the authorities, the US Federal Bureau of Information labels him a ‘stool pigeon.’ Similarly, the AlphaV ransomware gang is turning informer, not on its rivals but on its victims. In what is a likely portent of things to come, the gang has had the nerve to inform on MeridianLink (MLNK) to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being slow to report a ransomware attack that they themselves had initiated earlier in the month.
OpenAI Launches Initiative to Tackle Growing AI Risks – November 6th
OpenAI has announced a new team, intended to counter the risks brought by generative AI systems. Labeled the "preparedness" unit, the new OpenAI branch will be tasked to set preventive measures for systemic AI risks which include individual persuasion, cybersecurity, autonomous replication and adaptation, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats.
Interpol demands global action to tackle cybercrime
Interpol is demanding that the world’s governments and business leaders act together to stem the rapidly rising global tide of cybercrime. Speaking this week at the Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh, Interpol's assistant director of cybercrime operations, Bernardo Pillot, urged the world’s governments and business leaders to adopt a more collective approach to online dangers.
Enterprises face a steep rise in insider threats
As we predicted earlier this year, harsh economic conditions across Western democracies are acting as a catalyst for cybercrime - particularly those cyber-attacks that target staff inside the organization. As cybersecurity becomes more effective, cybercriminals are finding ways to bypass digital security barriers by victimizing and sometimes terrorizing key personnel within the target organization.
Revenue Losses in Small Businesses due to Cyber Attacks Rise to 42% – October 30th
According to a report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, 42% of small businesses lost revenue due to a cyber attack in 2023. Despite the record rise of cyber attacks (73%) and revenue loss in small businesses, 85% of small business leaders claim to be prepared for cyber attacks.
Three-quarters of SMBs hit by serious cyber-attacks
Roughly three-quarters of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have experienced a cyber-attack, a breach, or both in the last year. According to non-profit organization the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC)’s third annual ITRC Business Impact Report, 73 percent of owners or leaders of SMB’s reported being attacked or breached in the past 12 months, following a slight dip in the previous year.
North Korea funding weapons program with cybercrime
Last week, the US seized 17 website domains alleged to have been used to defraud US and foreign businesses. These seizures come hard on the heels of previously sealed October 2022 and January 2023 court-authorized seizures of approximately $1.5 million of the revenue that the same group of IT workers collected from unwitting victims. According to the US Justice Department, The Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea has installed bogus contractors to steal from US companies in order to pay for weapons development.
BHI Energy comes clean about devastating data breach – October 24th
US energy firm BHI Energy has shared details about an Akira ransomware gang attack that breached its network in May this year. The gang used a third-party contractor's account to reach BHI's internal network through a VPN connection. In the weeks that followed the breach, 767K files, containing 690 GB of data were stolen. These included BHI's Windows Active Directory database.
Plastic surgeons and patients targeted in extortion rackets
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns that cybercriminals and online blackmailers are targeting plastic surgeons to harvest electronically protected health information (ePHI) on their patients. Personal ePHI includes sensitive information and photographs, enabling the cybercriminals to extort money from the patients themselves as well as from plastic surgery practices, something that could prove lucrative to blackmailers targeting wealthy celebrities who are in the public eye.