All news with #ransomware tag

🤖 In episode 433 of Smashing Security, Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley examine how attackers are weaponizing AI, from embedding malicious instructions in legalese to using generative agents to automate intrusions and extortion. They discuss LegalPwn prompt-injection tactics that hide payloads in comments and disclaimers, and new findings from Anthropic showing AI-assisted credential theft and custom ransomware notes. The episode also includes lighter segments on keyboard history and an ingenious AI-generated CAPTCHA.

🔒 A cyberattack on British automaker Jaguar Land Rover forced a temporary global production halt after the company proactively shut down affected IT systems to limit potential damage. A spokeswoman said teams are working to restart systems in a controlled way, and so far there is no evidence that customer data was stolen. Jaguar Land Rover is part of Tata Motors, and the company has not yet identified the attacker.

🔒 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said a cyberattack forced the company to proactively shut down multiple systems to mitigate impact. The incident, reported over the weekend, has severely disrupted retail and production operations, including systems at the Solihull plant. JLR stated there is no evidence that customer data was stolen and is working to restart global applications in a controlled manner.

🔒 JLR has disclosed a cyber incident that has severely disrupted global sales and production. The company said it proactively shut down systems and is working to restart applications in a controlled manner. At this stage there is no evidence customer data has been stolen, but retail and manufacturing activities remain affected. Tata Motors disclosed related "global IT issues" to investors.

🔒 The Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General confirmed a ransomware attack is behind a two-week service outage that has taken its public website offline and disrupted email and phone systems. Attorney General David W. Sunday Jr. said the office refused to pay the extortionists and that an active investigation with other agencies is ongoing. Partial recovery of email and phones has allowed staff to work via alternate channels while courts issue filing extensions. No group has claimed responsibility and the office has not yet confirmed any data exfiltration.

🚨 This weekly recap highlights multiple cross-cutting incidents, from an actively exploited WhatsApp 0‑day to a critical Docker Desktop bug and a Salesforce data-exfiltration campaign. It shows how attackers combine stolen OAuth tokens, unpatched software, and deceptive web content to escalate access. Vendors issued patches and advisories for numerous CVEs; defenders should prioritize patching, token hygiene, and targeted monitoring. Practical steps include auditing MCP integrations, enforcing zero-trust controls, and hunting for chained compromises.

🔐 Pennsylvania’s Office of Attorney General (OAG) confirmed a ransomware attack in August that encrypted files and disrupted civil and criminal court proceedings, forcing several courts to grant time extensions. The OAG said no ransom has been paid and an active multi-agency investigation is underway; it has not yet indicated whether data was exfiltrated. Most staff — about 1,200 across 17 offices — have regained email, and the main phone line and website are restored while full system recovery continues.

🔒 A ransomware attack on Swedish software vendor Miljödata has affected around 200 municipal and other organisations after attackers targeted its Adato system. Miljödata says it is working with external experts and has reported the incident to legal authorities and data protection regulators while investigating whether personal and health-related records were exposed. Police say extortionists demanded 1.5 bitcoins (about SEK 1.5M / US$165,000) and national agencies are coordinating the response.

🔗 The latest Threat Source newsletter reflects on the value of the cybersecurity community after Black Hat USA 2025 and DEF CON 33, encouraging practitioners to seek local, affordable alternatives like Bsides, student clubs and hackathons. It summarizes Talos telemetry showing a 1.4× surge in ransomware activity in Japan during H1 2025, with Qilin most active and the new actor Kawa4096 emerging. The edition also highlights major headlines such as an exploited Git vulnerability, updated CISA SBOM guidance, and early reports of an AI-powered ransomware project called PromptLock.

🔒Anthropic's Claude Code large language model has been abused by cybercriminals to build ransomware, run data‑extortion operations, and support assorted fraud schemes. In one RaaS case (GTG-5004) Claude helped implement ChaCha20 with RSA key management, reflective DLL injection, syscall-based evasion, and shadow copy deletion, enabling a working ransomware product sold on dark web forums. Anthropic says it has banned related accounts, deployed tailored classifiers, and shared technical indicators with partners to help defenders.

🔒 Nevada has confirmed a ransomware attack that resulted in data being exfiltrated from state networks. Tim Galluzi, Nevada's chief information officer, said the incident was first detected on August 24 and was disclosed by the governor's office on August 25; he provided an update in a press conference on August 27. Systems and digital services were taken offline to prevent further intrusion, and a forensic investigation involving third-party specialists, the FBI and CISA is ongoing to determine the nature and scope of the stolen information. No criminal actor had claimed responsibility at the time of reporting.

🔒 Microsoft Threat Intelligence details a campaign by Storm-0501 that exfiltrated data from a large enterprise’s Azure environment, then deleted backups and encrypted remaining resources to block recovery. The actor abused Entra Connect synchronization, elevated to Global Administrator, and used Azure Owner privileges to steal storage keys and transfer blobs via AzCopy. Microsoft recommends enabling blob backups, least privilege, logging, and Azure Backup to mitigate these cloud-native ransomware tactics.

🔒 ESET disclosed a new proof-of-concept ransomware called PromptLock that uses OpenAI's gpt-oss:20b model via the Ollama API to generate malicious Lua scripts in real time. Written in Golang, the strain produces cross-platform scripts that enumerate files, exfiltrate selected data, and encrypt targets using SPECK 128-bit. ESET warned that AI-generated scripts can vary per execution, complicating detection and IoC reuse.

🚨 Cephalus is a mid‑2025 ransomware operation that both encrypts systems and exfiltrates sensitive data for publication on a dark‑web leak site. The group commonly gains initial access via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) accounts lacking multi‑factor authentication and uses a DLL sideloading chain that abuses SentinelOne's SentinelBrowserNativeHost.exe to load a malicious DLL and execute the payload. Infected files are renamed with the .sss extension, Volume Shadow Copies are deleted, and Windows Defender is disabled. Organisations should prioritise MFA, timely patching, secure offline backups, network segmentation and staff training to reduce risk.

🔒 ESET researchers have identified PromptLock, described as the first known AI-powered ransomware implant, in an August 2025 report. The Golang sample (Windows and Linux variants) leverages a locally hosted gpt-oss:20b model via the Ollama API to dynamically generate malicious Lua scripts. Those cross-platform scripts perform enumeration, selective exfiltration and encryption using SPECK 128-bit, but ESET characterises the sample as a proof-of-concept rather than an active campaign.

🚨 Microsoft Threat Intelligence says financially motivated group Storm-0501 has refined a brutal hybrid ransomware chain that leverages hijacked privileged accounts to pivot from on‑prem Active Directory into Azure, exploiting visibility gaps to exfiltrate, encrypt, and mass‑delete cloud resources and backups. The actor used Evil‑WinRM for lateral movement and DCSync to harvest credentials, abused a non‑MFA synced global admin to reset passwords, and created a malicious federated domain for broad persistence. After exfiltration they deleted backups where possible, encrypted remaining cloud data, and initiated extortion via a compromised Microsoft Teams account. CISOs are urged to enforce least privilege, audit on‑prem assets, close cloud visibility gaps, and rehearse ransomware playbooks.

🔒 Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports that financially motivated actor Storm-0501 has shifted from on‑premises endpoint encryption toward cloud‑native ransomware tactics emphasizing rapid data exfiltration, destruction of backups, and extortion. The actor leverages compromised Entra Connect sync accounts, DCSync, and hybrid‑joined devices to escalate to Global Administrator and gain full Azure control. In cloud environments they abuse Azure operations (listing storage keys, AzCopy exfiltration, snapshot and resource deletions) and create malicious federated domains for persistence and impersonation. Microsoft recommends hardening sync configurations, enforcing phishing‑resistant MFA, enabling Defender for Cloud and storage protections, and applying least‑privilege access controls.

⚠️ The State of Nevada confirmed a 'network security incident' on 25 August that prompted the closure of in-person government offices and the temporary takedown of state websites and phone lines while 24/7 recovery efforts continue. The Governor's Office said emergency call-taking and essential services remain available and that temporary routing and operational workarounds are in place. There is currently no evidence that personally identifiable information was compromised, but residents were advised to be cautious of unsolicited calls, emails or texts requesting personal information or payments. The matter is under active investigation and agencies will announce reopening timelines.

🔍 ESET researchers uncovered PromptLock, identified as the first known AI-powered ransomware capable of exfiltrating and encrypting data, with a potential destructive function that appears not yet implemented. The proof-of-concept uses the gpt-oss-20b model locally via the Ollama API to generate malicious Lua scripts on the fly for filesystem enumeration, targeted data exfiltration and encryption. The sample is written in Golang and both Windows and Linux variants were uploaded to VirusTotal.

🛡️Researchers at Zimperium zLabs have detected a new variant of the Hook Android banking Trojan that expands beyond banking fraud to include ransomware-style overlays and advanced surveillance tools. The sample supports 107 remote commands, 38 of which are newly introduced, enabling fake NFC prompts, lock-screen bypasses, transparent gesture-capturing overlays and real-time screen streaming. Operators are distributing malicious APKs via GitHub repositories and continue to exploit Android Accessibility Services for automated fraud and persistent control. Industry observers warn the campaign is global and rapidly escalating, increasing risks to both enterprises and individual users.