Ransomware encrypts or steals data to disrupt operations and extort victims, making backups, access controls, and incident response essential.
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Background for this topic.
Ransomware is malware used to deny access to systems or data, usually by encrypting files and demanding payment for decryption. Many operations also steal sensitive information and threaten to publish it, so an attack can create both an availability crisis and a privacy or disclosure risk. Initial access may involve phishing, stolen credentials, exposed remote services, or exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities; attackers may then move through the network before deploying the payload.
Defenses should combine vulnerability management, phishing-resistant authentication where practical, endpoint and network monitoring, and backups that are isolated from routine administrator access and regularly tested for recovery. Organizations should also limit privileges and segment critical systems to reduce the blast radius. An incident requires rapid containment, preservation of forensic evidence, restoration from known-good backups, and assessment of notification, legal, and regulatory obligations. Threat intelligence can help identify relevant criminal infrastructure or tactics, but it does not replace sound access control, patching, detection, and recovery practices.
We take a look at low, low subscription prices – not that we want to give anyone any ideas A Tor-hidden website dubbed the Eternity Project is offering a toolkit of malware, including ransomware, worms, and – coming soon – distributed denial-of-service programs, at low prices.…
Nine out of ten organizations would do it all over again, keeping attackers in business Almost nine in 10 organizations that have suffered a ransomware attack would choose to pay the ransom if hit again, according to a new report, compared with two-thirds of those that have not experienced an attack.…
Lincoln College shuttering after 157 years, ransomware attack from Iran final straw A December attack against a long-standing college in Illinois has pushed the institution to permanently close. …
We can think of one thing the S stands for in some unfortunate cases Miscreants are targeting managed service providers (MSPs) to break into their customers' networks and deploy ransomware, steal data, and spy on them, the Five Eyes nations' cybersecurity authorities have formally warned in a joint security alert.…
Secureworks' investigation only the latest evidence Kaseya and JBS attackers are on the move again New ransomware samples analyzed by Secureworks' threat intelligence team are the latest indication that high-profile ransomware operation REvil is once again up and running after months of relative inactivity.…
The State Department notice comes in wake of the cybercrims’ attack on Costa Rican government The US government is offering up to $15 million for information about key leaders of the notorious Conti ransomware group and any individual participating in an attack using a variant of Conti's malware.…
John Deere rival says it may be days or 'potentially longer' before some production facilities are back in action US agricultural machinery maker AGCO is the latest high-profile organization to fall victim to ransomware, which it says affects operations at some of its worldwide production facilities.…
Plus: Unpatched DNS bug puts IoT devices at risk, SolarWinds hackers set up new digs, and a CEO faces hard time for massive mining fraud In Brief Colonial Pipeline is facing an almost $1 million fine for control room management failures after the US Department of Transportation alleged they contributed to the nation's fuel disruption in the wake of the 2021 ransomware attack.…