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Feds Accuse Dual Russian-Israeli National of Serving as Key Member of OperationAn accused developer for Russian-speaking ransomware group LockBit, 51-year-old Rostislav Panev, appeared in a U.S. courtroom after being extradited from Israel. The dual Russian and Israeli citizen faces a 41 count superseding criminal indictment charging him with being a key member of the group.

A 51-year-old dual Russian and Israeli national who is alleged to be a developer of the LockBit ransomware group has been extradited to the United States, nearly three months after he was formally charged in connection with the e-crime scheme

A dual Russian-Israeli national, suspected of being a key developer for the LockBit ransomware operation, has been extradited to the United States to face charges. [...]

Worries Grow Over Data Privacy Framework StabilityA European official said he received assurances the U.S. is committed to preserving the legal framework underpinning commercial data flows across the Atlantic. The Data Privacy Framework already faces legal challenges in Europe, but fears of its durability compounded with the Trump administration.

Also: Hackers Use npm Packages, MassJacker Malware and Fake $TrumpThis week, Garantex admin arrested, hackers used npm packages to steal crypto data and deployed MassJacker malware to steal coins, infected victims with $Trump lures. Also, U.S. authorities seized hacked Ripple funds and a California warning about scams.

FBI Ties Group to Triple-Extortion Tactics Involving Follow-On Ransom DemandsThe Medusa ransomware group has been continuing to pummel critical infrastructure sectors across America, warns a joint U.S. government alert. The FBI said the group's tactics include triple extortion, meaning it continues to shake victims down for a ransom, even after they've paid.

VC firms invested 35% more in cybersecurity startups in North America and Europe in Q4 2024 than a year previously

Series D Funding to Drive U.S. Growth and AI Advancements in CybersecurityPentera has raised $60 million in Series D funding to expand its presence in the U.S. and accelerate AI-driven innovations in security validation. CEO Amitai Ratzon says the company is focused on advancing automated testing and strengthening its leadership in exposure validation.

CISA says the Medusa ransomware operation has impacted over 300 organizations in critical infrastructure sectors in the United States until last month. [...]

Plankey Led Efforts to Engage Energy Sector in Cyber Prep During Trump's First TermPresident Donald Trump has nominated a former Energy Department and National Security Council cybersecurity official to lead the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. National Guard and Coast Guard Veteran Sean Plankey has been tapped to replace Jen Easterly as the director of CISA.

Authorities in India today arrested the alleged co-founder of Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022 for facilitating tens of billions of dollars in money laundering by transnational criminal and cybercriminal organizations. Sources close to the investigation told KrebsOnSecurity the Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov, 46, was apprehended while vacationing on the coast of India with his family.

CISA warned U.S. federal agencies to secure their networks against attacks exploiting three critical vulnerabilities affecting Ivanti Endpoint Manager (EPM) appliances. [...]

Experts Express Surprise Over Major Social Platform Falling Victim to DDoS AttacksOne of the world's biggest social networks continued to face intermittent outages Tuesday, apparently due to unsophisticated, distributed denial-of-service attacks. Experts said the attacks were traced to malware-infected devices - many based in the U.S. - and pro-Palestinian hacktivists.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday added five security flaws impacting Advantive VeraCore and Ivanti Endpoint Manager (EPM) to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild

The South American-based advanced persistent threat group is using an exploit with a "high infection rate," according to research from Check Point.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said today that Americans lost a record $12.5 billion to fraud last year, a 25% increase over the previous year. [...]