Latest coverage for Extortion

Also: AscendEX Shuts Down; Ethereum Foundation on AI Bug HuntingThis week, Ostium paused trading, AscendEX shut down, Ethereum said AI hastens bug hunting, not verification, the United States charged an inmate over seized transfer, ex-Sheriff's deputy jailed for extortion, Tangem card security, Iran-linked wallets sanctions and the U.S. may drop BitClub charges.

Mandiant: 68% of Targets Were Higher Ed Institutions Running PeopleSoftShinyHunters exploited a critical zero-day in Oracle PeopleSoft to breach more than 100 organizations globally, researchers at Mandiant and Google's Threat Intelligence Group said, with universities and colleges accounting for the majority of confirmed targets in the active extortion campaign.

'Have I Been Pwned' Founder Troy Hunt Reviews Impact on People and OrganizationsThe volume of data breaches that result in stolen personal data being leaked online has been surging, "courtesy of the ShinyHunters," and while it affects individuals, the organizations being extorted are bearing the brunt of such attacks, said Troy Hunt, founder and CEO of Have I Been Pwned.

Prolific ShinyHunters Extortion Group Made 'Pay or Leak' Threat to VictimHome security giant ADT has suffered a data breach that appears to have exposed personally identifiable information tied to 5.5 million customers. Prolific extortionist group ShinyHunters claimed credit for the attack, saying it stole Salesforce data after socially engineering an ADT employee.

Also: ZachXBT Uncovers DPRK Worker Scam, Hyperbridge Hack, Coinone FineThis week, Operation Atlantic disrupts $45M phishing fraud, ZachXBT uncovers DPRK crypto worker scheme, Hyperbridge exploit, South Korea fines Coinone $3.5M, Kraken faces extortion attempt over insider data leak and American musician loses $420K in fake Ledger app.

CRM-Obsessed ShinyHunters Gang Exploits Misconfigured Customer Experience PortalsA prolific and noisy cybercrime gang with a penchant for stealing Salesforce customers' data and holding it ransom is taking advantage of misconfigured guest accounts meant to provide public access to services meant to remain private, using a Google scanning tool to identify vulnerable accounts.

Revenue From Data-Extortion-Only Attacks Appear to Have Plummeted to Virtually NilWhile ransomware continues to disrupt businesses, thankfully some shakedown strategies are losing steam. The latest ISMG Security Report reviews how criminals have continued to refine the ransomware business model and why once-successful strategies for maximizing illicit profits now fall short.

AI-powered ransomware compresses attacks from weeks to minutes. Michael Villar, director of field security technology at Akamai, says banks need AI-driven segmentation to contain intruders fast, limit lateral movement and protect sensitive data before extortion begins.

Also: IoTex Bridge Exploit Linked to Private Key BreachThis week, Step Finance shuts down, IoTeX bridge exploit, Russia-linked exchanges help evade sanctions, Australian charged in $3.5 million scam, a hacker returned $21 million in seized bitcoin to South Korean prosecutors and Malaysia arrested 12 police officers in an extortion case.

Report: Lazarus Group Pivoting to Medusa Ransomware for Extortion AttacksNorth Korean-state backed Lazarus Group hackers are using Medusa ransomware in extortion attacks on U.S. healthcare entities despite a 2024 U.S. indictment of Rim Jong Hyok, an alleged member of the Lazarus subgroup Stonefly, according to a new threat intelligence report.

AI-powered ransomware compresses attacks from weeks to minutes. Michael Villar, director of field security technology at Akamai, says banks need AI-driven segmentation to contain intruders fast, limit lateral movement and protect sensitive data before extortion begins.

Russia-Linked Ransomware Group Dumps Customer Data After Failed Extortion AttemptUnder Armour may trade on the "blood, sweat, respect" slogan, but a Russia-linked ransomware group hasn't been abiding, after they stole data pertaining to 72.7 million of the athleisure giant's customers, then leaked it on darkweb sites after saying the retailer refused to pay a ransom.

Stealthy Group Taps Blockchain 'EtherHiding' to Facilitate Victim CommunicationsThe DeadLock ransomware group, a newly emerged digital extortion group, is using blockchain smart contracts to store proxy server addresses for facilitating ransomware negotiations with victim organizations. The technique suggests the group is made up of experienced cybercriminals.

More Than 100,000 Affected by Hack Detected on Dec. 30The New Zealand government is probing a year-end ransomware hack of private healthcare service provider Manage My Health that impacted thousands of patients. Digital extortion group Kazu has claimed responsibility and threatened to leak the data on Jan. 15 unless it receives a $60,000 ransom.

Chinese Developer Formerly Employed by Company Suspected of Data TheftSouth Korea's biggest online retailer, Coupang, said a five-month breach exposed personal data pertaining to 34 million customers, and only came to light after it received an extortion demand. Police said a former developer at the company, a Chinese national who fled the country, is a suspect.

Digital Extortionists Try Recruiting Insiders, Email BarragesCollective efforts to bolster cybersecurity defenses have been taking a big bite out of ransomware groups' earnings, leading groups to reach for new strategies, including social engineering, supply chain attacks, extortion services and bribing insiders, warn incident response experts.

Everest Extortion Group Lists Dublin AirportA Russian data extortion group threatened Sunday to release passenger data putatively stolen from the Dublin Airport days after its operator said it investigated a breach stemming from a September cybersecurity incident that affected airports across Europe.

Also, Envoy Air Confirms Data Compromise Following Clop Extortion CampaignThis week, Qilin didn't hack a Spanish tax agency, Nexperia standoff, Envoy Air confirmed a data compromise, Experian Netherlands fined 2.7M euros, ToolShell used to breach global networks, flaws in TP-Link Omada and Festa VPN routers and a New York firm settled a cybersecurity investigation.

Also, Internet-Exposed Call Center Software Under Attack and Patch TuesdayThis week: Chinese hackers exploited ArcGIS, Internet-exposed call center software under attack, October patch Tuesday, Massachusetts student sentenced for $3 million extortion hack, New York fined eight insurers $14.2M over data breaches, more than 100 VS Code extensions leak secrets.

Criminals Claim Leak of Customer Data From Six Victims, Including Qantas AirlinesA ransomware group that's been extorting Salesforce customers leaked some stolen data, following the FBI disrupting its shakedown sites. ShinyHunters, part of the rebranded Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters group, after leaking data from six victims, declared its Salesforce customer shakedown over.