Tag: russia
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.
Russia-Backed Hackers Infiltrate Microsoft’s Corporate Email System – January 22nd
Microsoft announced on a blog post that the email intrusion attack began in November 2023 and was discovered on January 12th, 2024. Microsoft deduced that the attack originated from a Russian nation-state hacking group. The Microsoft blog post stated the attack gained access to a small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, consisting of Microsoft leadership, security, and IT team members. The incident is still under investigation and reported to the SEC, Microsoft vowed to take any further necessary action while being as transparent as possible.
Geopolitical tensions fuel botnet boom
Recent weeks have seen an exponential rise in malicious botnets performing reconnaissance scanning to scout out victims. According to researchers at cybersecurity firm Netscout, the number of potentially compromised devices rose from around 10,000 to roughly 144,000 over December, with no sign of the trend letting up. “The trend continued into the new year, with the largest spikes occurring on January 5 and 6, eclipsing one million distinct devices. The levels reached an unprecedented 1,294,416 on the 5th,” reports Netscout. The Netscout researchers say that this increased malicious scanning has been isolated to five key countries: The United States, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Russia. All have seen a rise in attackers using cheap or free cloud and hosting servers to create botnet launch pads.
Ukrainian Hacks Accounts to Mine $2M in Crypto – January 15th
A now arrested Ukrainian-based hacker infiltrated cloud-computing accounts to create over 1M virtual servers to mine $2M worth of cryptocurrencies, Europol announced. The Europol investigation shed light on the dangers behind cloud computer hijacking campaigns used for large-scale illicit crypto mining.
November’s Ransomware Leak Victims Reach Record High – December 25th
A record-high 484 ransomware victims were posted on publicly available sites in November 2023, according to a Corvus Insurance report. The spike in ransomware victims' information being leaked reflects a 39.08% increase compared to October 2023 and a staggering 110.43% increase compared to November 2022.
Ukraine’s Largest Telecom Crippled by Russian Cyberattack – December 13th
Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest telecom provider announced it was hit by a devastating cyberattack, disrupting internet access for over 26 million users. Kyivstar's parent company, VEON Ltd confirmed the devastating cyberattack, claiming it to be “one of the largest cyberattacks in the history of the global telecom market.”
Russian Campaign Targeting UK Politics Exposed – December 8th
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in collaboration with partners from the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand revealed the Russian-state-backed threat actors terrorizing UK political systems. The NCSC identified the group 'Star Blizzard' to be a subordinate to Centre 18 from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Star Blizzard targeted UK parliamentarians, UK-US trade documents, UK think tanks, universities, journalists, and NGOs using various sophisticated phishing tactics.
Nuclear facility reportedly hacked by Russia and China
In what is an urgent and stark warning to nuclear facilities around the world, UK nuclear facility Sellafield, formerly called Windscale, is reported to have been hacked by groups linked to China and Russia. The 70-year-old sprawling six-square-kilometre facility, located on the North-West coast of England, holds the planet's largest store of plutonium as a result of processing nuclear waste from decades of atomic power generation and weapons programs. The UK authorities do not know exactly when the hack originally occurred, according to The Guardian newspaper, although breaches are said to have been detected as long ago as 2015, when sleeper malware, used to attack systems remotely and at will over a long period, was found to have been embedded. In what amounts to a national scandal for the UK, it is still not yet known if the malware has actually been eradicated.
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.
EU and Ukraine Partner to Boost Cybersecurity – November 14th
The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) signed a Working Agreement with Ukraine’s Administration of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP) to boost cybersecurity efforts. The Working Agreement signed by ENISA and SSSCIP will focus on the EU supporting Ukraine in its efforts to protect itself from geopolitically-fueled cyber attacks from Russian threat actors through improving critical infrastructure, cybersecurity skills, and capacity building.
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.
West’s intelligence services join forces with Big Tech
In what the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is billing as “their first-ever joint public appearance”, the heads of the intelligence services of five Western governments, known as the “Five Eyes” are now meeting in Palo Alto, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.