Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new Linux backdoor named PamDOORa that's being advertised on the Rehub Russian cybercrime forum for $1,600 by a threat actor called "darkworm." The backdoor is designed as a Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM)-based post-exploitation toolkit that enables persistent SSH access by means of a magic password and specific TCP port combination.

Moscow Crackdowns 'Less About Enforcement and More About Optics,' Say ExpertsChanging forces are reshaping the Russian cybercrime ecosystem, as the Kremlin takes a more direct role in leveraging ransomware and other groups for geopolitical influence, while not hesitating to occasionally burn lower-level players as a diplomatic token gesture, say researchers.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies Warns Against Aligning With New Cyber TreatyThe United Nations' cybercrime treaty, shaped by Russian and Chinese influence, could legitimize global digital repression by enabling prosecutions of journalists, activists and researchers under vague terms - despite U.S. opposition and mounting civil society alarm, analysts warned Thursday.

Russia, China, Iran and North Korea Tapping Cybercrime Services, Google SaysThe cybercrime-as-a-service economy continues to power ransomware and other criminal enterprises, as well as serve as "an accelerant for state-sponsored hacking," collectively posing an increasing risk to Western national security, cybersecurity researchers warn.

A financial firm registered in Canada has emerged as the payment processor for dozens of Russian cryptocurrency exchanges and websites hawking cybercrime services aimed at Russian-speaking customers, new research finds. Meanwhile, an investigation into the Vancouver street address used by this company shows it is home to dozens of foreign currency dealers, money transfer businesses, and cryptocurrency exchanges -- none of which are physically located there.

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered new infrastructure linked to a financially motivated threat actor known as FIN7

Russian organizations have been targeted by a cybercrime gang called ExCobalt using a previously unknown Golang-based backdoor known as GoRed

An international team of researchers published the first-ever index ranking countries by cybercrime threat level

Russia, Ukraine, China and US All Top 'First-Ever World Cybercrime Index'A new study published by researchers from the universities of Oxford and New South Wales ranks Russia at the top of a global list of cybercrime hot spots and says Ukraine, China, the United States, Nigeria and Romania are home to a majority of global cybercriminal activity.

Researchers analyzing the leaked chats of the notorious Conti ransomware operation have discovered that teams inside the Russian cybercrime group were actively developing firmware hacks. [...]

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.

In January, KrebsOnSecurity examined clues left behind by "Wazawaka," the hacker handle chosen by a major ransomware criminal in the Russian-speaking cybercrime scene. Wazawaka has since "lost his mind" according to his erstwhile colleagues, creating a Twitter account to drop exploit code for a widely-used virtual private networking (VPN) appliance, and publishing bizarre selfie videos taunting security researchers and journalists. In last month's story, we explored clues that led from Wazawaka's multitude of monikers, email addresses, and passwords to a 30-something father in Abakan, Russia named Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev. This post concerns itself with the other half of Wazawaka's identities not mentioned in the first story, such as how Wazawaka also ran the Babuk ransomware affiliate program, and later became "Orange," the founder of the ransomware-focused Dark Web forum known as "RAMP."