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.
Critical infrastructure, federal agencies must report intrusions, ransomware payments within hours, draft rules state Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the possibility that the Kremlin may escalate its cyberespionage against the West after being heavily sanctioned, has convinced the US Senate to unanimously pass a bipartisan cybersecurity bill.…
This week's biggest story is the massive data leak from the Conti ransomware operation, including over 160,000 internal messages between members and source code for the ransomware and TrickBot operation. [...]
Notes threatening to tank targeted companies' stock price were embedded into the DDoS ransomware attacks as a string_of_text directed to CEOs and webops_geeks in the URL.
Part I of this series examined newly-leaked internal chats from the Conti ransomware group, and how the crime gang dealt with its own internal breaches. Part II explored what it's like to be an employee of Conti's sprawling organization. Today's Part III looks at how Conti abused a panoply of popular commercial security services to undermine the security of their targets, as well as how the team’s leaders strategized for the upper hand in ransom negotiations with victims.
Cruddy cryptography means victims whose files have been encrypted by the Ukraine-tormenting ransomware can break the chains without paying extortionists.
The new EU regulation is a response to the rise of ransomware attacks and other new cyberthreats that have proliferated in the wake of the global pandemic.
Threat actors have focused on two ends of the spectrum — quick, impactful attacks or stealthy intrusions — making strong prevention and faster response more important for enterprises.
It’s not just Ukraine: There's a flood of intel on Russian military, nukes and crooks, says dark-web intel expert Vinny Troia, even with the Conti ransomware gang shuttering its leaking Jabber chat server.
Avast Threat Labs has released a decryptor for the HermeticRansom ransomware strain used predominately in targeted attacks against Ukrainian systems in the past ten days. [...]
American chipmaking company NVIDIA on Tuesday confirmed that its network was breached as a result of a cyber attack, enabling the perpetrators to gain access to sensitive data, including source code purportedly associated with its Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology
The decryptor spilled by ContiLeaks won’t work with recent victims. Conti couldn't care less: It's still operating just fine. Still, the dump is a bouquet’s worth of intel.
Earlier this week, a Ukrainian security researcher leaked almost two years’ worth of internal chat logs from Conti, one of the more rapacious and ruthless ransomware gangs in operation today. Tuesday’s story examined how Conti dealt with its own internal breaches and attacks from private security firms and governments. In Part II of this series we’ll explore what it’s like to work for Conti, as described by the Conti employees themselves.
Latest info dump days after anonymous outing of 60,000 messages Infamous ransomware group Conti is now the target of cyberattacks in the wake of its announcement late last week that it fully supports Russia's ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine, with the latest hit being the leaking of its source code for the public to see.…
"Change your code to improve cryptomining"... or we'll dump 1TB of stolen secrets.
A Ukrainian researcher continues to deal devastating blows to the Conti ransomware operation, leaking further internal conversations, as well as the source for their ransomware, administrative panels, and more. [...]
A Ukrainian security researcher this week leaked several years of internal chat logs and other sensitive data tied to Conti, an aggressive and ruthless Russian cybercrime group that focuses on deploying its ransomware to companies with more than $100 million in annual revenue. The chat logs offer a fascinating glimpse into the challenges of running a sprawling criminal enterprise with more than 100 salaried employees. The records also provide insight into how Conti has dealt with its own internal breaches and attacks from private security firms and foreign governments.
Hybridizing signatures with artificial intelligence is making a significant difference in our ability to detect cyberattacks, including ransomware.
Days after the Conti ransomware group broadcasted a pro-Russian message pledging its allegiance to Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, a disgruntled member of the cartel has leaked the syndicate's internal chats
Even as the TrickBot infrastructure closed shop, the operators of the malware are continuing to refine and retool their arsenal to carry out attacks that culminated in the deployment of Conti ransomware
Outage hit key supplier, forcing carmaker to pull the plug