Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

A U.S. government agency paid $1M to Kairos, a group focused on data theft and extortion rather than ransomware, Ransom-ISAC reports. A new case study from Ransom-ISAC reconstructs a complete data-extortion incident involving a U.S. government body and a threat actor called Kairos, using a leaked negotiation transcript and blockchain tracing of the ransom payment. […]

A U.S. government entity paid about $1 million to keep stolen files from being leaked, according to a new case study by Rakesh Krishnan for Ransom-ISAC, built on a leaked negotiation chat and the blockchain trail the payment left

Americans Extorted at Least 5 Firms, Earning $1 Million From a Medical Device MakerTwo American cybersecurity professionals who moonlighted as BlackCat ransomware gang affiliates pleaded guilty to using the crypto-locking malware to extort at least five victims in the United States, including a medical device maker that paid a cryptocurrency ransom worth over $1 million.

Bad opsec Thalha Jubair, one of the two UK teens arrested on Tuesday and accused of being members of the notorious Scattered Spider cybercrime gang, allegedly played a role in bilking more than 100 organizations out of at least $115 million in ransom payments. The cops nabbed him after following a number of clues, including paying for gift cards from a wallet on the same server that also held wallets receiving extortion payments.…

Cryptocurrency Tracing Suggests Group Is Rebrand of Russian-Speaking BlackCat GroupEven lesser-known ransomware groups haul in serious extortion cash - although in the ransomware world, little is what it seems. Take relative newcomer Embargo, which appears to be a rebrand of, or successor to, the notorious BlackCat group, also known as Alphv.

FBI Accuses Ukrainian Man of Identifying Exploitable Flaws in Victims' NetworksA 33-year-old Armenian man, Karen Vardanyan, accused of facilitating Ryuk ransomware attacks against numerous organizations, is due to stand trial in the U.S. in August. The FBI said the Ryuk operation earned at least $15 million in cryptocurrency ransom payments from victims.

An Iranian national has pleaded guilty in the U.S. over his involvement in an international ransomware and extortion scheme involving the Robbinhood ransomware

Hacker Demanded $20M Ransom to Delete Stolen Personal, Financial InformationA months-long data breach led to the theft of personal and financial information of nearly 70,000 Coinbase customers. Coinbase said the breach dates back to December and was aided by bribery schemes targeting the company's overseas customer support agents.

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange with over 100 million customers, has disclosed that cybercriminals working with rogue support agents stole customer data and demanded a $20 million ransom not to publish the stolen information. [...]

Collapse of LockBit and BlackCat/ALPHV Tied to Ongoing Decline in Big-Game HuntingRansomware may still be raking in massive cryptocurrency profits for practitioners, but 2024 turned out to be less of a banner year than predicted, with blockchain researchers reporting that the sum total of known ransom payments to ransomware groups in 2024 plummeted by 35%.

You arrive at the office, power up your system, and panic sets in. Every file is locked, and every system is frozen. A ransom demand flashes on your screen: "Pay $2 million in Bitcoin within 48 hours or lose everything." And the worst part is that even after paying, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your data back. Many victims hand over the money, only to receive nothing in return, or worse, get

The parents of a 19-year-old Connecticut honors student accused of taking part in a $243 million cryptocurrency heist in August were carjacked a week later, while out house-hunting in a brand new Lamborghini. Prosecutors say the couple was beaten and briefly kidnapped by six young men who traveled from Florida as part of a botched plan to hold the parents for ransom.

Ransom payments in the first half of 2024 hit $460m, according to Chainalysis

U.S. and German law enforcement seized the domain of the crypto wallet platform Cryptonator, used by ransomware gangs, darknet marketplaces, and other illicit services, and indicted its operator. [...]

Authorities Uncover 30,000 LockBit Bitcoin AddressesCryptocurrency trading platform Binance restricted access to 85 accounts as part of an action against the LockBit ransomware affiliates, and authorities estimated that members of the now-defunct ransomware-as-a-service operation had pocketed "hundreds of millions" in ransom.

The LockBit ransomware gang received more than $125 million in ransom payments over the past 18 months, according to the analysis of hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets associated with the operation. [...]

Aliaksandr Klimenka, a Belarusian and Cypriot national, has been indicted in the U.S. for his involvement in an international cybercrime money laundering operation. [...]

Ransomware is a kind of malware used by cybercriminals to stop users from accessing their systems or files; the cybercriminals then threaten to leak, destroy or withhold sensitive information unless a ransom is paid

Promises funds will be used to support struggling students The Netherlands' Maastricht University has managed to recoup the Bitcoin ransom it paid to ransomware scum in 2019 – and has made a tidy profit on the deal.…

Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft has released a free decryption tool to help Diavol ransomware victims recover their files without paying a ransom. [...]