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.
The individual is part of a DPRK-backed group known as Andariel, which is known for using the 'Maui' ransomware strain to target and extort healthcare entities.
Synnovis has rebuilt “substantial parts” of its systems following the Qilin ransomware attack on June 3, enabling the restoration of core blood supplies to NHS hospitals
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday unsealed an indictment against a North Korean military intelligence operative for allegedly carrying out ransomware attacks against healthcare facilities in the country and funneling the payments to orchestrate additional intrusions into defense, technology, and government entities across the world
Microsoft, Mandiant, weigh in with info about methods used by Andariel gang alleged to have made many, many, heists The US Department of Justice on Thursday charged a North Korean national over a series of ransomware attacks on stateside hospitals and healthcare providers, US defense companies, NASA, and even a Chinese target.…
A North Korea-linked threat actor known for its cyber espionage operations has gradually expanded into financially-motivated attacks that involve the deployment of ransomware, setting it apart from other nation-state hacking groups linked to the country
Cisco Talos found that ransomware and BEC accounted for 60% of all cyber incidents in Q2 2024, with ransomware rising by 22% compared to Q1
The authorities intend to send a message to these cybercrime groups that their criminal offenses and ransomware attacks are not worth the fallout.
Some rest for the wicked? Los Angeles County Superior Court, the largest trial court in America, closed all 36 of its courthouses today following an "unprecedented" ransomware attack on Friday.…
More baddies go it alone as trust in big gangs withers, claims Europol A fresh report from Europol suggests that the recent disruption of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) groups is fragmenting the threat landscape, making it more difficult to track.…
Trend Micro also revealed a connection between the Play ransomware group and the threat actor Prolific Puma
Europol also said that multi-layered extortion tactics in ransomware are becoming more common
Two Russian nationals have pleaded guilty to charges relating to their participation in the LockBit ransomware gang
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new Linux variant of a ransomware strain known as Play (aka Balloonfly and PlayCrypt) that's designed to target VMware ESXi environments