All news with #ransomware tag

Ex-Incident Response Staff Indicted for BlackCat Attacks

🔒 Three former incident response employees from DigitalMint and Sygnia have been indicted for allegedly carrying out ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware attacks on five U.S. companies between May and November 2023. Prosecutors say the defendants accessed networks, exfiltrated data, deployed encryption malware, and demanded ransoms ranging from $300,000 to $10 million, with one victim paying $1.27 million. Two named defendants face federal extortion and computer-damage charges that carry up to 20 and 10 years in prison respectively.

Weekly Recap: Lazarus Web3 Attacks and TEE.Fail Risks

🔐 This week's recap highlights a broad set of high‑impact threats, from a suspected China‑linked intrusion exploiting a critical Motex Lanscope flaw to deploy Gokcpdoor, to North Korean BlueNoroff campaigns targeting Web3 executives. Researchers disclosed TEE.fail, a low‑cost DDR5 side‑channel that can extract secrets from Intel and AMD TEEs. Also noted: human‑mimicking Android banking malware, WSL‑based ransomware tactics, and multiple high‑priority CVEs.

Rhysida Ransomware Uses Microsoft Signing to Evade Defenses

🛡️ Rhysida ransomware operators have shifted to malvertising and the abuse of Microsoft Trusted Signing certificates to slip malware past defenses. By buying Bing search ads that point to convincing fake download pages for Microsoft Teams, PuTTY and Zoom, they deliver initial access tools such as OysterLoader (formerly Broomstick/CleanUpLoader) and Latrodectus. Signed, packaged binaries evade static detection and often run without scrutiny on Windows endpoints.

Conti Suspect Appears in US Court After Extradition

🔒 A Ukrainian national extradited from Ireland has appeared in a US court, accused of conspiring to deploy Conti ransomware and manage stolen data and ransom notes. Authorities allege Oleksii Lytvynenko participated in attacks between 2020 and July 2022 that resulted in more than $500,000 in cryptocurrency extorted from victims in the Tennessee district and the publication of additional stolen data. He faces computer fraud and wire fraud conspiracy charges and could receive up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Ground Zero: Five Critical Steps After a Cyberattack

🛡️ Rapid, methodical incident response is essential when you suspect unauthorized access. Activating a rehearsed IR plan and notifying a cross-functional incident team (including HR, PR, legal and executives) helps you quickly establish scope, preserve evidence and maintain chain of custody. Contain affected systems without destroying forensic data, protect offline backups, notify regulators, insurers and law enforcement, then proceed to eradication, recovery and hardening.

European Ransomware Leak-Site Victims Spike in 2025

🔒 CrowdStrike's 2025 European Threat Landscape Report found a 13% year-on-year rise in ransomware victims across Europe, with the UK hardest hit. The study, covering leak sites from September 2024 to August 2025, identified 1,380 victims and noted that since January 2024 more than 2,100 organisations were named on extortion sites, with 92% involving file encryption and data theft. The report highlights Akira and LockBit as the most active groups and warns of persistent big-game hunting, growing vishing campaigns and an emerging Violence-as-a-Service threat landscape.

2025 European Threat Landscape: Extortion and State Activity

🔍 CrowdStrike’s 2025 European Threat Landscape Report reveals rising extortion and intensifying nation-state operations across Europe, with Big Game Hunting (BGH) actors naming roughly 2,100 Europe-based victims on more than 100 dedicated leak sites since January 1, 2024. The United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Spain are most targeted, across sectors such as manufacturing, professional services, technology, industrials and retail. The report details an active cybercrime ecosystem — forums, encrypted apps and marketplaces — and notes enabling techniques like voice phishing and fake CAPTCHA lures, while geopolitical conflicts drive expanded Russian-, Chinese-, Iranian- and DPRK-linked operations.

Conduent Breach Exposes Data of Over 10.5 Million People

🔒 Conduent has confirmed a breach affecting more than 10.5 million individuals, with customer notices sent in October 2025 after the incident was discovered on 13 January 2025. Unauthorized access reportedly began on 21 October 2024 and persisted for nearly three months. The criminal group SafePay claimed responsibility and said it exfiltrated large volumes of data, potentially including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and medical and insurance information.

CISA: High-Severity Linux Privilege Flaw Used by Ransomware

🔒 CISA confirmed that CVE-2024-1086, a high-severity use-after-free bug in the nf_tables component of the Linux kernel, is being exploited in ransomware campaigns. The flaw, introduced in 2014 and patched in January 2024, enables local attackers to escalate to root. A publicly released PoC targets kernels 5.14–6.6. CISA added the issue to its KEV list and recommended mitigations such as blocklisting nf_tables, restricting user namespaces, or loading the LKRG module.

Ukrainian Extradited from Ireland on Conti Ransomware Charges

🔒 A 43-year-old Ukrainian national, Oleksii Lytvynenko, has been extradited from Ireland to the United States on charges tied to the Conti ransomware operation. U.S. authorities allege he controlled stolen data and participated in sending ransom notes during double-extortion attacks between 2020 and June 2022. Arrested by An Garda Síochána in July 2023, Lytvynenko could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say the conspiracy extorted cryptocurrency and targeted victims across multiple jurisdictions.

Conduent Confirms Data Breach Affects 10.5 Million People

🔒 Conduent has confirmed a 2024 data breach that state attorney general notifications indicate affected more than 10.5 million people. Reported exposed data includes names, Social Security numbers, full dates of birth, health insurance policy or ID numbers, and medical information. Conduent says the environment was first compromised on October 21, 2024 and discovered in January 2025; as of October 24, 2025 it reports no evidence the stolen data has been misused. Affected individuals are advised to obtain credit reports and consider fraud alerts or a security freeze; the company did not offer identity monitoring services.

Russian Ransomware Gangs Adopt Open-Source AdaptixC2

🔒 AdaptixC2, an open-source command-and-control framework, has been adopted by multiple threat actors, including groups tied to Russian ransomware operations, prompting warnings about its dual-use nature. The tool offers encrypted communications, credential and screenshot managers, remote terminal capabilities, a Golang server, and a cross-platform C++ QT GUI client. Security firms Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 and Silent Push have analyzed its modular capabilities and traced marketing activity to a developer using the handle RalfHacker. Observed abuse includes fake Microsoft Teams help-desk scams and an AI-generated PowerShell loader used to deliver post-exploitation payloads.

AdaptixC2 Abused by Ransomware Operators Worldwide

⚠️ Silent Push reports a surge in malicious use of AdaptixC2, an open-source adversarial emulation framework that researchers say is now being delivered by the CountLoader malware as part of active ransomware operations. Deployments accelerated after new detection signatures were released, and public incident reports show increased sightings across multiple intrusions. Analysts flagged the developer alias RalfHacker and issued indicators covering Golang C2 traffic and unknown C++/QT executables.

Stolen Credentials and Remote Access Abuse in 2025

🔒 FortiGuard Incident Response observed that in H1 2025 financially motivated actors frequently used stolen credentials and legitimate remote-access software to gain and extend access across environments. Adversaries relied on compromised VPN logins, password reuse, or purchased credentials, deploying tools like AnyDesk, Splashtop, Atera and ScreenConnect to move laterally and exfiltrate data manually. These intrusions often bypass endpoint-focused defenses because activity mimics normal user behavior, so FortiGuard emphasizes identity- and behavior-driven detection, broad MFA enforcement, and monitoring of remote access tooling.

ThreatsDay: DNS Poisoning, Supply-Chain Heist, New RATs

🔔 This week's ThreatsDay bulletin highlights a critical BIND9 vulnerability (CVE-2025-40778) enabling DNS cache poisoning and a public PoC, along with widespread campaign activity from loaders, commodity RATs and supply-chain trojans. Other notable items include a guilty plea by a former defense employee for selling cyber-exploit components to a Russian broker, a new Linux Rust dual-personality evasion technique, and Avast's free decryptor for Midnight ransomware. Recommended defensive actions emphasize patching to the latest BIND9 releases, enabling DNSSEC, restricting recursion, and strengthening monitoring and authentication controls.

Board Cyber Resilience: Metrics That Drive Governance

🔒 Boards need concise, business-focused cyber metrics that translate technical activity into measurable resilience. The article argues that traditional SOC metrics (patch counts, blocked phishing attempts) are poor indicators of business impact and recommends focusing on financial impact, governance, operational resilience, and strategic readiness. It highlights concrete measures — average cost per incident, downtime cost per minute, MTTR, MTTD, regulatory violations, third-party risk, and residual risk — and urges boards to choose 1–2 metrics per category, set reporting cadence, and iterate until metrics drive oversight.

Ransomware Profits Decline as Fewer Victims Pay through 2024

🔍 A new Coveware study shows the ransomware economy is shifting: despite an increase in attacks, both average ransom amounts and the share of victims paying demands have fallen. In Q3 only 23% of victims paid, down from 28% in Q1 2024, and average payments dropped from around $377,000 last year to roughly $140,000 this year. Coveware attributes the change to better prevention and incident handling by organizations and growing pressure from authorities. Insurance provider Hiscox warns that 40% of paying victims still lose data, underscoring persistent recovery risks.

Email and Remote Access Drive 90% of Cyber Claims in 2024

📧 At-Bay's 2025 InsurSec analysis finds email and remote access were central to 90% of cyber insurance claims in 2024. Email accounted for 43% of incidents and fraud schemes commonly begin with credential theft, domain spoofing, and impersonation. Google Workspace was cited as the most secure mail provider, though claims rose; MDR services were highlighted as the most reliable defense against full encryption.

BSI: Tens of Thousands of German Exchange Servers Vulnerable

⚠️ The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warns that the majority of an estimated 33,000 publicly reachable Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 installations still operate without vendor support after 14 October 2025. Without security updates, new critical Exchange vulnerabilities cannot be patched and affected systems may need to be taken offline to avoid compromise. The BSI highlights rapid network-wide compromise and ransomware risk and urges prompt upgrades, migrations, or protective measures such as VPNs or IP restrictions.

Ransomware Hits Swedish Grid Operator Svenska kraftnät

🔒 On October 25, 2025 the ransomware group Everest listed state grid operator Svenska kraftnät on its darknet leak site, claiming about 280 GB of stolen data. Svenska kraftnät confirmed on October 26 that attackers accessed certain sensitive information via an isolated external file-transfer solution and said investigations are underway. The utility — which operates roughly 16,000 km of high-voltage lines — said there is currently no indication the physical grid was affected and that it is coordinating with police and national cybersecurity authorities.