Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Ukraine’s SSU and the FBI Just Confirmed Russian Intelligence Has Been Systematically Hacking Messenger Accounts for Years. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), working jointly with the FBI, has formally exposed a sustained Russian intelligence campaign targeting the messaging accounts of government officials, military personnel, politicians, and activists across Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. […]

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) said it, together with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), uncovered a long-running campaign orchestrated by Russian intelligence services to break into the messaging accounts of government officials, military personnel, politicians, and activists in Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S

The FBI joined authorities across Europe last week in seizing domain names for Cracked and Nulled, English-language cybercrime forums with millions of users that trafficked in stolen data, hacking tools and malware. An investigation into the history of these communities shows their apparent co-founders quite openly operate an Internet service provider and a pair of e-commerce platforms catering to buyers and sellers on both forums.

Two hacker groups were paid to develop malware targeting victims in the US, Europe, and Asia, as well as various Chinese dissident groups.

Malware Used a Hardcoded IP Address for Command and ControlU.S. federal law enforcement said Tuesday it deleted more than 4,000 instances of PlugX malware used in a Chinese cyberespionage operation after a European partner gained control of the malware's command and control server. PlugX spreads through infected USB drives.

A collaboration with the FBI and law-enforcement agencies in Europe, the UK, and Australia, Operation Magnus has seized servers and source code related to the two malware families, which have stolen data from millions of victims worldwide.

The Black Basta ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation has targeted more than 500 private industry and critical infrastructure entities in North America, Europe, and Australia since its emergence in April 2022

Also: North Korea Money Laundering and South Korean Crypto PoliceThis week, SEC filed suit against Geosyn, prosecutors fought dismissed Tornado Cash charges, analyst tracked North Korean crypto laundering, European Parliament OK'd anti-money laundering law, FBI warned of unregistered crypto entities and South Korea may make crypto investigative unit permanent.

According to a joint advisory from the FBI, CISA, Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), and the Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL), the Akira ransomware operation has breached the networks of over 250 organizations and raked in roughly $42 million in ransom payments. [...]