Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

A U.S. government agency paid $1M to Kairos, a group focused on data theft and extortion rather than ransomware, Ransom-ISAC reports. A new case study from Ransom-ISAC reconstructs a complete data-extortion incident involving a U.S. government body and a threat actor called Kairos, using a leaked negotiation transcript and blockchain tracing of the ransom payment. […]

A U.S. government entity paid about $1 million to keep stolen files from being leaked, according to a new case study by Rakesh Krishnan for Ransom-ISAC, built on a leaked negotiation chat and the blockchain trail the payment left

New analysis shows the campaign, which uses compromised WordPress sites, may be linked to the ransomware and data extortion group Vice Society.

A new analysis of The Gentlemen operation has revealed that the financially motivated threat group initially operated as an affiliate responsible for conducting double extortion attacks, while leveraging resources from various ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) schemes like LockBit (aka Tenacious Mantis), Qilin (aka Pestilent Mantis), and Medusa (aka Venomous Mantis)

Extortion-only attacks are increasing as data theft drives most ransomware claims, with many organizations unable to stop stolen data from being exposed

The FBI warned that the extortion gang Silent Ransom Group is targeting law firms and social-engineering its way into servers and databases.

A 5-year study on the Ransomware Economy found that 30,515 exposed databases were hit by ransom attacks, causing massive damage despite victims never paying. Database extortion doesn’t look like the ransomware stories that usually grab headlines. There’s no slick branding, no leak-site countdown, no gang posting memes on Telegram. In most cases, there’s just a […]

A Latvian national extradited to the United States was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for his "cold case" negotiator role in the Russian Karakurt ransomware group. [...]

Angelo Martino helped accomplices extort a combined $75.3 million in ransom payments from five victim companies. The post Former DigitalMint ransomware negotiator pleads guilty to extortion scheme appeared first on CyberScoop.

An elusive hacker who went by the handle "UNKN" and ran the early Russian ransomware groups GandCrab and REvil now has a name and a face. Authorities in Germany say 31-year-old Russian Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin headed both cybercrime gangs and helped carry out at least 130 acts of computer sabotage and extortion against victims across the country between 2019 and 2021.

Multi-extortion ransomware relies on stolen data to pressure victims with public leaks. Penta Security explains how its D.AMO platform keeps exfiltrated files encrypted and useless to attackers. [...]

The ransomware gang, known for double-extortion attacks, had access to a critical Cisco firewall vulnerability weeks before it was publicly disclosed.

Google’s research report on ransomware activity last year underscores how cybercrime is evolving and clouding a collective understanding of its full impact and scale. The post The ransomware economy is shifting toward straight-up data extortion appeared first on CyberScoop.

Angelo Martino is accused of playing both sides — committing attacks and conducting ransomware negotiations on some of the same cases on behalf of his former employer. The post Feds say another DigitalMint negotiator ran ransomware attacks and helped extort $75 million appeared first on CyberScoop.

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.

Credential and cryptocurrency theft, live surveillance, ransomware - an attacker's Swiss Army knife A new remote access trojan (RAT) being sold on cybercrime networks enables double extortion attacks on Windows machines by bundling ransomware and data theft, along with credential and cryptocurrency stealers, live surveillance, and a whole host of other illicit capabilities, all controllable from a centralized dashboard.…

International law enforcement operation led by Europol targets network of teenagers and young adults involved in ransomware attacks, extortion and other crimes

Introduction: Steal It Today, Break It in a Decade Digital evolution is unstoppable, and though the pace may vary, things tend to fall into place sooner rather than later. That, of course, applies to adversaries as well. The rise of ransomware and cyber extortion generated funding for a complex and highly professional criminal ecosystem. The era of the cloud brought general availability of

New ransomware of choice, same critical targets North Korea’s Lazarus Group appears to have added another tool to its kit. It has begun using Medusa ransomware in extortion attacks targeting at least one US healthcare organization and an unnamed victim in the Middle East, according to Symantec and Carbon Black threat hunters.…