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.
Researchers say there's dissent in the ranks. Plus: An AI tool lets you have a go yourself at analysing the data Hundreds of thousands of internal messages from the Black Basta ransomware gang were leaked by a Telegram user, prompting security researchers to bust out their best Russian translations post haste.…
FBI and CISA issue reminder - deep sigh - about the importance of patching and backups The operators of Ghost ransomware continue to claim victims and score payments, but keeping the crooks at bay is possible by patching known vulnerabilities and some basic infosec actions, according to a joint advisory issued Wednesday by the FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.…
2.3 TB held to ransom as biz formerly known as Virgin Care tells us it's probing IT 'security incident' Exclusive HCRG Care Group, a private health and social services provider, has seemingly fallen victim to the Medusa ransomware gang, which is threatening to leak what's claimed to be stolen internal records unless a substantial ransom is paid.…
Showbiz members' passport scans already plastered online A London talent agency has reported itself to the UK's data protection watchdog after the Rhysida ransomware crew last week claimed it had attacked the business, which represents luminaries of stage and screen.…
If this makes you feel sick, knowing this happened before ransomware actors started targeting medical info may help An alleged security SNAFU that occurred during the Obama administration has finally been settled under the second Trump administration.…
Called it an 'incident' in SEC filing, but encrypted apps and data exfiltration suggest Lee just can’t say the R word US newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises is blaming its recent service disruptions on a "cybersecurity attack," per a regulatory filing, and is the latest company to avoid using the dreaded R word.…