Tag: extortion
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Lotus Wiper Hits Energy Sector in Destructive Cyberattack
Hackers have deployed a new destructive malware, dubbed Lotus Wiper , in a targeted cyberattack against energy and utilities organizations in Venezuela, aiming not to extort money but to destroy data and disrupt operations permanently. Artifacts from the Lotus Wiper attack chain were uploaded to a public malware-sharing resource in mid-December 2025 from a machine in Venezuela,…
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Former DigitalMint ransomware negotiator pleads guilty to extortion scheme
Angelo Martino helped accomplices extort a combined $75.3 million in ransom payments from five victim companies. First seen on cyberscoop.com Jump to article: cyberscoop.com/digitalmint-ransomware-negotiator-angelo-martino-guilty-plea/
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Ransomware negotiator caught secretly assisting BlackCat extortion scheme
Angelo Martino pleaded guilty to helping BlackCat ransomware group while acting as a ransomware negotiator. Another U.S. cybersecurity expert, Angelo Martino, admitted helping the BlackCat ransomware group while working as a ransomware negotiator. Angelo Martino (41) admitted helping the BlackCat ransomware group while working for a U.S. incident response firm. >>A Florida man, formerly employed…
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Data breach at edtech giant McGraw Hill affects 13.5 million accounts
The ShinyHunters extortion group has leaked data from 13.5 million McGraw Hill user accounts, stolen after breaching the company’s Salesforce environment earlier this month. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/data-breach-at-edtech-giant-mcgraw-hill-affects-135-million-accounts/
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Crypto-exchange Kraken extorted by hackers after insider breach
The Kraken cryptocurrency exchange announced that a cybercrime group is trying to extort the company by threatening to release videos showing internal systems that host client data. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/crypto-exchange-kraken-extorted-by-hackers-after-insider-breach/
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Emulating the Persuasive NightSpire Ransomware
AttackIQ has released a new attack graph that emulates the behaviors of NightSpire Ransomware, a financially motivated ransomware and data extortion group that emerged in early 2025 and quickly evolved into a full double-extortion operation. First seen on securityboulevard.com Jump to article: securityboulevard.com/2026/04/emulating-the-persuasive-nightspire-ransomware/
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McGraw-Hill confirms data breach following extortion threat
Education company McGraw-Hill has confirmed in a statement to BleepingComputer that hackers exploited a Salesforce misconfiguration and accessed its internal data. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mcgraw-hill-confirms-data-breach-following-extortion-threat/
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Kraken Exchange Faces Extortion After Insider Recorded System Footage
Kraken exchange faces extortion after a staff member misused access to record internal systems, about 2,000 accounts affected, no funds or systems breached. First seen on hackread.com Jump to article: hackread.com/kraken-exchange-extortion-insider-system-footage/
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Stolen Rockstar Games analytics data leaked by extortion gang
Rockstar Games has suffered a data breach linked to a recent security incident at Anodot, with the ShinyHunters extortion gang now leaking the stolen data on its data leak site. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/stolen-rockstar-games-analytics-data-leaked-by-extortion-gang/
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Hack at Anodot leaves over a dozen breached companies facing extortion
The data breach at Anodot, which affects customers like Rockstar Games, is the latest hack aimed at stealing data from a large number of corporate giants. First seen on techcrunch.com Jump to article: techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/hack-at-anodot-leaves-over-a-dozen-breached-companies-facing-extortion/
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‘Several dozen’ high-value corporations hit by new extortion crew in helpdesk phishing spree
Possible link to Mr. Raccoon’s claimed Adobe break-in First seen on theregister.com Jump to article: www.theregister.com/2026/04/09/several_dozen_highvalue_corporations_targeted/
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Google Warns of New Threat Group Targeting BPOs and Helpdesks
Google’s threat intel team warns UNC6783, a new extortion group possibly linked to the “Raccoon” persona, is targeting BPOs and enterprises First seen on infosecurity-magazine.com Jump to article: www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/google-warns-group-targeting-bpos/
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Hackers steal and leak sensitive LAPD police documents
The LAPD said the breach affected “a digital storage system” belonging to the city’s Attorney’s Office. The World Leaks extortion gang was reported to be behind the attack. First seen on techcrunch.com Jump to article: techcrunch.com/2026/04/08/hackers-steal-and-leak-sensitive-lapd-police-documents/
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Ingenieur gesteht: Kollegen aus IT ausgesperrt und Arbeitgeber erpresst
Tags: extortionEin Ingenieur stiftet Chaos im Netzwerk seines Arbeitgebers und fordert ein Lösegeld von 20 Bitcoin. Vor einem US-Gericht gesteht er die Sabotage. First seen on golem.de Jump to article: www.golem.de/news/ingenieur-gesteht-kollegen-aus-it-ausgesperrt-und-arbeitgeber-erpresst-2604-207291.html
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Germany Doxes “UNKN,” Head of RU Ransomware Gangs REvil, GandCrab
An elusive hacker who went by the handle “UNKN” and ran the early Russian ransomware groups GandCrab and REvil now has a name and a face. Authorities in Germany say 31-year-old Russian Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin headed both cybercrime gangs and helped carry out at least 130 acts of computer sabotage and extortion against victims across…
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CERT-EU blames Trivy supply chain attack for Europa.eu data breach
Tags: access, ai, attack, breach, cisco, data, data-breach, extortion, group, network, ransom, ransomware, saas, supply-chainExtortion boost: The origins and deeper motives of TeamPCP, which emerged in late 2025, remain unclear. The leaking of stolen data suggests it might be styling itself as a sort of initial access broker which sells data and network access on to the highest bidder.However, the fact that stolen data was handed to a major…
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CERT-EU blames Trivy supply chain attack for Europa.eu data breach
Tags: access, ai, attack, breach, cisco, data, data-breach, extortion, group, network, ransom, ransomware, saas, supply-chainExtortion boost: The origins and deeper motives of TeamPCP, which emerged in late 2025, remain unclear. The leaking of stolen data suggests it might be styling itself as a sort of initial access broker which sells data and network access on to the highest bidder.However, the fact that stolen data was handed to a major…
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Evolution of Ransomware: Multi-Extortion Ransomware Attacks
Multi-extortion ransomware relies on stolen data to pressure victims with public leaks. Penta Security explains how its D.AMO platform keeps exfiltrated files encrypted and useless to attackers. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/evolution-of-ransomware-multi-extortion-ransomware-attacks/
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Infrastructure Engineer Pleads Guilty to Locking 254 Windows Servers at Former Employer
Daniel Rhyne, a 59-year-old former core infrastructure engineer, pleaded guilty on April 1, 2026, to federal hacking and extortion charges. He admitted to locking out administrators and sabotaging systems at his former New Jersey-based employer in an attack that began in November 2023. Rhyne entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in…
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Man admits to locking thousands of Windows devices in extortion plot
A former core infrastructure engineer has pleaded guilty to locking Windows admins out of 254 servers as part of a failed extortion plot targeting his employer, an industrial company headquartered in Somerset County, New Jersey. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/man-admits-to-extortion-plot-locking-coworkers-out-of-thousands-of-windows-devices/
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Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open source LiteLLM project
The AI recruiting startup confirmed a security incident after an extortion hacking crew took credit for stealing data from the company’s systems. First seen on techcrunch.com Jump to article: techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/mercor-says-it-was-hit-by-cyberattack-tied-to-compromise-of-open-source-litellm-project/
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Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open-source LiteLLM project
The AI recruiting startup confirmed a security incident after an extortion hacking crew took credit for stealing data from the company’s systems. First seen on techcrunch.com Jump to article: techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/mercor-says-it-was-hit-by-cyberattack-tied-to-compromise-of-open-source-litellm-project/
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Panera’s 5.1 Million User Breach: When ‘No Hack’ Becomes a Ransomware Business Model
ShinyHunters leaked 5.1M Panera accounts after extortion failed. Contact data can’t be changed like passwords”, it’s permanent exposure fueling years of scams. First seen on securityboulevard.com Jump to article: securityboulevard.com/2026/03/paneras-5-1-million-user-breach-when-no-hack-becomes-a-ransomware-business-model/
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Panera’s 5.1 Million User Breach: When ‘No Hack’ Becomes a Ransomware Business Model
ShinyHunters leaked 5.1M Panera accounts after extortion failed. Contact data can’t be changed like passwords”, it’s permanent exposure fueling years of scams. First seen on securityboulevard.com Jump to article: securityboulevard.com/2026/03/paneras-5-1-million-user-breach-when-no-hack-becomes-a-ransomware-business-model/
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Patienten werden erpresst – Cyberangriff auf Greifswälder Klinik
First seen on security-insider.de Jump to article: www.security-insider.de/cyberattacke-bdh-klinik-greifswald-lka-ermittelt-a-53e9c15dbc282a6c554d2f84ec720763/
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Fahndung nach Cyberkriminellen 130 Firmen attackiert
130 Unternehmen und Institutionen gerieten ins Visier der Hacker.Nach jahrelangen Cybercrime-Angriffen auf mehr als Hundert Unternehmen und Einrichtungen in Deutschland haben Ermittler zwei zentrale Verdächtige identifiziert. Der eine sei der mutmaßliche Kopf von zwei Hackergruppen, der andere der mutmaßliche Programmierer der von diesen Gruppen genutzten Schadsoftware. Dies teilten das bei der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Karlsruhe eingerichtete Cybercrime-Zentrum…