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.
LockBitSupp, the individual(s) behind the persona representing the LockBit ransomware service on cybercrime forums such as Exploit and XSS, "has engaged with law enforcement," authorities said
LockBit Leader Vows to Continue HackingRussian-speaking ransomware operation LockBit reestablished a dark web leak site Saturday afternoon, posting a lengthy screed apparently authored by its leader, who vowed not to retreat from the criminal underground world. The FBI had no comment.
Authorities Uncover 30,000 LockBit Bitcoin AddressesCryptocurrency trading platform Binance restricted access to 85 accounts as part of an action against the LockBit ransomware affiliates, and authorities estimated that members of the now-defunct ransomware-as-a-service operation had pocketed "hundreds of millions" in ransom.
Breaches and Complaints Continue to Soar as Regulatory Duties IncreaseAs the volume of major health data breaches rises, the federal agency charged with investigating those incidents told Congress this week that it lacks the needed funding to keep up with its mounting workload. The agency also separately announced its second ransomware HIPAA breach settlement.
Ransomware, Info Stealers, Backdoors and CryptojackingHackers are on a tear to exploit unpatched ConnectWise ScreenConnect remote connection software to infect systems with ransomware, info stealers and persistent backdoors. The attacks observed by researchers include ransomware deployments tied to the now-defunct LockBit ransomware operation.
Sony subsidiary Insomniac Games is sending data breach notification letters to employees whose personal information was stolen and leaked online following a Rhysida ransomware attack in November. [...]
The LockBit ransomware gang received more than $125 million in ransom payments over the past 18 months, according to the analysis of hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets associated with the operation. [...]
With Over $1 Billion in Annual Proceeds, Don't Expect Attackers to Give Up the LifeOnce the dust settles on the LockBit disruption, what will be the state of ransomware? Expect attackers to continue refining their tactics for maximizing profits via a grab bag of complementary strategies, including crypto-locking shakedowns and data-theft extortion.
Despite ransomware losses remaining high, privacy violations have quickly risen to second in a list of expected cyber insurance claims costs.
Hundreds of initial access brokers and cybercrime gangs are jumping on the max-critical CVE-2024-1709 authentication bypass, threatening orgs and downstream customers.
After Teasing 'Who is LockBitSupp,' Cops Say He's 'Engaged With Law Enforcement'"Who is LockBitSupp?" Police teased they would reveal the answer to that question Friday, but when the big reveal came, they disclosed very little, except to cryptically say the apparent member of the LockBit ransomware group's leadership team "has engaged with law enforcement."
Cybereason found that 78% of organizations who paid a ransom demand were hit by a second ransomware attack, often by the same threat actor
Officials Reschedule Big Reveal of LockBit Ransomware Group Leadership's IdentityWho is LockBitSupp? On Friday morning, when law enforcement promised to reveal the identity of the public mouthpiece of the LockBit ransomware-as-a-service operation they infiltrated and disrupted earlier this week, authorities instead announced a delay.
The most prolific ransomware group in recent years was on the decline at the time of its takedown, security researchers say.
Also: Avast Agrees to $16.5 Million Civil Penalty to Settle Privacy InvestigationThis week: more fallout from LockBit, Avast to pay $16.5M, Russia-linked group targeted mail servers, no indication that AT&T was hacked, analysis of a patched Apple flaw, Microsoft enhanced logging, an Android banking Trojan, North Korean hackers and a baking giant fell to ransomware.
New features aimed to stamp out problems of the past Law enforcement's disruption of the LockBit ransomware crew comes as the criminal group was working on bringing a brand-new variant to market, research reveals.…
Attackers are exploiting a maximum severity authentication bypass vulnerability to breach unpatched ScreenConnect servers and deploy LockBit ransomware payloads on compromised networks. [...]
Attackers are exploiting a maximum severity authentication bypass vulnerability to breach unpatched ScreenConnect servers and deploy LockBit ransomware payloads on compromised networks. [...]
Numerous Impediments Remain If Administrators Attempt to Reboot the OperationThe notorious ransomware-as-a-service group LockBit, disrupted by law enforcement this week, was developing a new version of its crypto-locking malware prior to being shut down, security researchers reported. Even so, experts say it's unlikely the group would be able to successfully reboot.
LockBit ransomware developers were secretly building a new version of their file encrypting malware, dubbed LockBit-NG-Dev - likely a future LockBit 4.0, when law enforcement took down the cybercriminal's infrastructure earlier this week. [...]