Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

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.

Digital Extortionists Try Recruiting Insiders, Email BarragesCollective efforts to bolster cybersecurity defenses have been taking a big bite out of ransomware groups' earnings, leading groups to reach for new strategies, including social engineering, supply chain attacks, extortion services and bribing insiders, warn incident response experts.

Focus on Cyber Hygiene, Advanced Tools and Rapid Response to Outsmart AttackersModern cyberthreats require modern defense tactics. Ransomware now employs multilayered extortion tactics that target operations and reputations. With 68% of breaches involving human error, CISOs and leaders must focus on cyber hygiene, advanced security tools and rapid response strategies.

Robert Boyce on Accenture's Strategy for Assessing the Behavior of Ransomware GangsAccenture Global Cyber Resilience Lead Robert Boyce outlines why organizations must assess the stability of ransomware groups before deciding how to respond to extortion threats. He outlines how trustworthiness of ransomware gangs can affect the likelihood of receiving decryption keys after payment.

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.

The threat actors associated with the Medusa ransomware have ramped up their activities following the debut of a dedicated data leak site on the dark web in February 2023 to publish sensitive data of victims who are unwilling to agree to their demands

The financially motivated threat actor known as UNC3944 is pivoting to ransomware deployment as part of an expansion to its monetization strategies, Mandiant has revealed

The ALPHV ransomware gang, also referred to as BlackCat, is trying to put more pressure on their victims to pay a ransom by providing an API for their leak site to increase visibility for their attacks. [...]

How can organizations defend themselves more effectively against ransomware and other forms of cyber extortion? By “shifting left” and adopting proactive cybersecurity strategies to detect attacks sooner, mitigating breaches before they cause harm.

How can organizations defend themselves more effectively against ransomware and other forms of cyber extortion? By “shifting left” and adopting proactive cybersecurity strategies to detect attacks sooner, mitigating breaches before they cause harm.

Two ransomware gangs and a data extortion group have adopted a new strategy to force victim companies to pay threat actors to not leak stolen data. [...]