Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

An elusive hacker who went by the handle "UNKN" and ran the early Russian ransomware groups GandCrab and REvil now has a name and a face. Authorities in Germany say 31-year-old Russian Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin headed both cybercrime gangs and helped carry out at least 130 acts of computer sabotage and extortion against victims across the country between 2019 and 2021.

Nine people have been arrested in connection with a coordinated law enforcement operation that targeted a cryptocurrency money laundering network that defrauded victims of €600 million (~$688 million)

Law enforcement authorities in Europe have arrested five suspects in connection with an "elaborate" online investment fraud scheme that stole more than €100 million ($118 million) from over 100 victims in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain

Also: Reimbursements in Banana Gun Hack; Germany Shutters 47 ExchangesThis week, BingX, Truflation, OpenAI X account hacked; Germany shut 47 exchanges; Caroline Ellison sentenced; two got crypto theft charges; one got crypto scam fine; Banana Gun will refund victims; WazirX, Liminal in dispute; SEC settled with TrueCoin, TrustToken; CFTC may settle with Mango Markets.

Global Botnet's Victims Are in United States, Germany, Romania and Hong KongFBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday the bureau seized control of a Chinese-developed botnet that maintained access to thousands of compromised devices across the globe as part of an effort to launch widespread disruptive cyberattacks. The botnet is a Mirai variant.

Der Spiegel Reports Russian State Hackers Mimicked Kiel InstituteThe German cyber agency is reportedly investigating a phishing campaign tied to Russian state hacking group APT28 that used a bogus website mimicking an influential think tank. The campaign, which ran for months, used variations of the institute's legitimate IfW-Kiel web domain to lure victims.

Legitimate-but-compromised websites are being used as a conduit to deliver a Windows backdoor dubbed BadSpace under the guise of fake browser updates

Proofpoint Spots Novel Threat Against German OrganizationsA financially motivated threat group used a script apparently coded by artificial intelligence to download an info stealer onto victim computers. The script, used to load the Rhadamanthys info stealer, contains "grammatically correct and hyper specific comments above each component of the script."

Also: A Widespread Linux Bootloader VulnerabilityThis week, the U.S. banned AI robocalls, researchers discovered a Linux bootloader flaw, France investigated health sector hackings, the feds offered money for Hive information, Verizon disclosed an insider breach, Germany opened a cybersecurity center, and cyberattack victims reported high costs.

A phishing campaign has been observed delivering an information stealer malware called MrAnon Stealer to unsuspecting victims via seemingly benign booking-themed PDF lures

A new QBot malware campaign is leveraging hijacked business correspondence to trick unsuspecting victims into installing the malware, new findings from Kaspersky reveal

Millions extorted from victims, one attack left hospital patient dead German and Ukrainian cops have arrested suspected members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware crew and issued warrants for three other "masterminds" behind the global operation that extorted tens of millions of dollars and may have led to the death of a hospital patient.…

A previously unknown threat actor has been targeting companies in the U.S. and Germany with bespoke malware designed to steal confidential information

Hackers tied to the North Korean government have been observed using an updated version of a backdoor known as Dtrack targeting a wide range of industries in Germany, Brazil, India, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.S

$200 a day buys you 90,000 victims A Russian operated botnet known as RSOCKS has been shut down by the US Department of Justice acting with law enforcement partners in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. It is believed to have compromised millions of computers and other devices around the globe.…

A financially motivated campaign that targets Android devices and spreads mobile malware via SMS phishing techniques since at least 2018 has spread its tentacles to strike victims located in France and Germany for the first time