Tag: ransom
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Victims Are Rebuffing Ransomware Mass Data Theft Campaigns
Revenue From Supply-Chain Attacks by Clop Group Sharply Fell, Report Investigators. Once lucrative steal-and-leak campaigns pioneered by Russian ransomware group Clop look set to go the way of the dinosaurs. While an estimated 25% of victims paid a ransom in the inaugural campaign five years ago, the number of victims that paid fell to zero…
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Nitrogen Ransomware: ESXi malware has a bug!
Nitrogen ransomware was derived from the previously leaked Conti 2 builder code, and is similar to Nitrogen ransomware, but a coding mistake in the ESXi malware causes it to encrypt all the files with the wrong public key, irrevocably corrupting them. This means that even the threat actor is incapable of decrypting them, and that…
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Hackers exploit unsecured MongoDB instances to wipe data and demand ransom
Over 1,400 exposed MongoDB servers have been hijacked and wiped by hackers, who left ransom notes after exploiting weak or missing access controls. Cybersecurity firm Flare reports that unsecured MongoDB databases remain easy targets, with 1,416 of 3,100 exposed servers compromised. Hackers wiped data and left ransom notes, usually demanding $500 in Bitcoin, often using…
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Hackers attempt to extort parents after school refuses to pay ransom fee
The attackers are believed to have gained access to the internal networks of OLV Pulhof, a secondary school in the Berchem district of Antwerp, shortly after the Christmas break. First seen on therecord.media Jump to article: therecord.media/hackers-attempt-to-extort-parents-after-school-refuses-ransom-demand
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âš¡ Weekly Recap: Proxy Botnet, Office Zero-Day, MongoDB Ransoms, AI Hijacks & New Threats
Every week brings new discoveries, attacks, and defenses that shape the state of cybersecurity. Some threats are stopped quickly, while others go unseen until they cause real damage.Sometimes a single update, exploit, or mistake changes how we think about risk and protection. Every incident shows how defenders adapt, and how fast attackers try to stay…
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Hackers Target MongoDB Instances to Delete Databases and Plant Ransom Notes
Tags: attack, authentication, cyber, data-breach, exploit, extortion, hacker, Internet, ransom, ransomware, threatA widespread ransomware campaign targeting misconfigured MongoDB databases continues to compromise thousands of servers worldwide, with attackers exploiting internet-exposed instances that lack basic authentication controls. Recent research reveals that opportunistic threat actors are leveraging automated scripts to wipe databases and demand Bitcoin ransoms, turning configuration negligence into a scalable extortion operation. Attack Resurfaces After Years…
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When responsible disclosure becomes unpaid labor
Tags: ai, bug-bounty, ciso, cloud, compliance, control, credentials, cve, cvss, cybersecurity, data, email, exploit, finance, flaw, governance, healthcare, incident response, infrastructure, jobs, open-source, ransom, risk, security-incident, service, software, threat, tool, update, vulnerability, warfaresupposed to function and how it increasingly does in practice. Enter the gray zone of ethical disclosure: The result is a growing gray zone between ethical research and adversarial pressure. Based on years of reporting on disclosure disputes, that gray zone tends to emerge through a small set of recurring failure modes.Silent treatment and severity…
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Exposed MongoDB instances still targeted in data extortion attacks
A threat actor is targeting exposed MongoDB instances in automated data extortion attacks demanding low ransoms from owners to restore the data. First seen on bleepingcomputer.com Jump to article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/exposed-mongodb-instances-still-targeted-in-data-extortion-attacks/
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The Case for a Ransom Payment Ban and When It Might Happen
Britain will likely ban at least some types of ransom payments as it revamps the nation’s cybersecurity laws, but many open questions remain, including sectors and the organizational sizes to be covered, and if all payments might be required to pass sanctions checks, said policy expert Jen Ellis. First seen on govinfosecurity.com Jump to article:…
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NDSS 2025 all your (data)base are belong to us: Characterizing Database Ransom(ware) Attacks
Tags: attack, authentication, conference, credentials, finance, group, Internet, network, ransom, ransomware, softwareSession 10B: Ransomware Authors, Creators & Presenters: Kevin van Liebergen (IMDEA Software Institute), Gibran Gomez (IMDEA Software Institute), Srdjan Matic (IMDEA Software Institute), Juan Caballero (IMDEA Software Institute) PAPER all your (data)base are belong to us: Characterizing Database Ransom(ware) Attacks We present the first systematic study of database ransom(ware) attacks, a class of attacks where…
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Ransomware gang’s slip-up led to data recovery for 12 US firms
Tags: access, attack, backup, breach, business, citrix, cloud, corporate, cyber, data, data-breach, detection, encryption, endpoint, exploit, finance, group, incident response, infosec, infrastructure, law, linux, network, phishing, powershell, ransom, ransomware, risk, software, spear-phishing, sql, threat, tool, veeam, vulnerabilityscrutinize and audit your backups. If you have a regular backup schedule, is there unexpected or unexplained activity? Von Ramin Mapp notes that crooks are known to time data exfiltration to match corporate off-site backups as a way to hide their work;monitor for encrypted data leaving your environments and see where it goes. Does this…
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Ransomware ‘Most Wanted’: Cops Seek Head of Black Basta
Crackdown Targets Multiple Members of Cybercrime Group, Including ‘Hash Crackers’. Police raided two suspected members of the notorious Black Basta ransomware group – tied to over 600 victims worldwide and many millions in ransom payments – in Ukraine and issued an international arrest warrant for the Russian national suspected of being the operation’s founder and…
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Orthopedic Practice Pays $500K Settlement to NYS in Hack
2023 Incident Affected More Than 650,000 Patients, Employees. An upstate New York orthopedic practice has agreed to pay state regulators a $500,000 settlement and implement stronger security practices following a 2023 hack involving the theft of 650,000 individuals’ sensitive information. Cybercrime group INC Ransom reportedly claimed credit for the incident. First seen on govinfosecurity.com Jump…
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8 things CISOs can’t afford to get wrong in 2026
Tags: access, advisory, ai, attack, automation, awareness, breach, business, ciso, cloud, communications, compliance, control, cyber, cyberattack, cybersecurity, data, data-breach, defense, dora, encryption, finance, firmware, GDPR, healthcare, identity, incident response, india, infrastructure, injection, insurance, intelligence, iot, jobs, law, malicious, monitoring, network, privacy, ransom, regulation, resilience, risk, saas, scam, service, software, strategy, supply-chain, tactics, technology, theft, threat, tool, training, update, vulnerability, zero-trust“Identity and access controls for AI agents and AI platforms are one of the most important areas of concern for CISOs,” says Jason Stading, director at global technology research and advisory firm ISG. “Right now, permissions and access rights for AI are a black box in many areas. We will see a major push over…
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2 Cyber Pros Admit to Being BlackCat Ransomware Affiliates
Americans Extorted at Least 5 Firms, Earning $1 Million From a Medical Device Maker. Two American cybersecurity professionals who moonlighted as BlackCat ransomware gang affiliates pleaded guilty to using the crypto-locking malware to extort at least five victims in the United States, including a medical device maker that paid a cryptocurrency ransom worth over $1…
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Think you can beat ransomware? RansomHouse just made it a lot harder
Tags: access, attack, backup, corporate, data, detection, encryption, endpoint, extortion, incident response, leak, monitoring, ransom, ransomware, strategy, updateRansomHouse attempts double extortion: Beyond the cryptographic update, RansomHouse leverages a double extortion model, which involves exfiltrating data and threatening public disclosure in addition to encrypting it, to add pressure on victims to pay.This layered pressure tactic, already a common feature of modern ransomware attacks, complicates incident response timelines and negotiating strategies for corporate security…
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Scam Centers Fueling Thailand’s Border War With Cambodia
UN Says Southeast Asian Scam Centers Generate $41 Billion in Illicit Annual Profits. Southeast Asian scam centers tied to $41 billion in illicit annual profits gleaned from romance and investment scams, ongoing gambling, and holding some of the hundreds of thousands of victims trafficked to work at the centers to ransom, continue to fuel geopolitical…
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Cybersecurity Snapshot: Cyber Pros Emerge as Bold AI Adopters, While AI Changes Data Security Game, CSA Reports Say
Tags: advisory, ai, api, attack, awareness, business, cloud, compliance, control, credit-card, crime, crimes, crypto, cyber, cybersecurity, data, data-breach, defense, detection, exploit, finance, framework, google, governance, guide, healthcare, injection, intelligence, law, LLM, lockbit, malicious, metric, mitigation, monitoring, network, office, openai, ransom, ransomware, risk, risk-management, service, skills, sql, threat, tool, training, update, vulnerabilityFormerly “AI shy” cyber pros have done a 180 and become AI power users, as AI forces data security changes, the CSA says. Plus, PwC predicts orgs will get serious about responsible AI usage in 2026, while the NCSC states that, no, prompt injection isn’t the new SQL injection. And much more! Key takeaways Cyber…
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Cybersecurity Snapshot: Cyber Pros Emerge as Bold AI Adopters, While AI Changes Data Security Game, CSA Reports Say
Tags: advisory, ai, api, attack, awareness, business, cloud, compliance, control, credit-card, crime, crimes, crypto, cyber, cybersecurity, data, data-breach, defense, detection, exploit, finance, framework, google, governance, guide, healthcare, injection, intelligence, law, LLM, lockbit, malicious, metric, mitigation, monitoring, network, office, openai, ransom, ransomware, risk, risk-management, service, skills, sql, threat, tool, training, update, vulnerabilityFormerly “AI shy” cyber pros have done a 180 and become AI power users, as AI forces data security changes, the CSA says. Plus, PwC predicts orgs will get serious about responsible AI usage in 2026, while the NCSC states that, no, prompt injection isn’t the new SQL injection. And much more! Key takeaways Cyber…
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New ‘DroidLock’ malware demands a ransom, locks user out of device
Recently spotted malware targets Spanish-speaking Android users with a lock screen that demands a ransom and other changes that effectively render a device unusable, researchers say. First seen on therecord.media Jump to article: therecord.media/android-droidlock-malware-demands-ransom-locks-mobile-device
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New DroidLock Malware Locks Android Devices and Demands Ransom Payment
The zLabs research team has identified a sophisticated new threat campaign targeting Spanish Android users through a malware strain called DroidLock. Unlike traditional ransomware that encrypts files, this Android-focused threat employs a more direct approach locking devices with ransomware-style overlays and demanding payment while maintaining complete control over compromised handsets. DroidLock primarily spreads through phishing…
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Ransomware Victim Warning: The Streisand Effect May Apply
Analysis of Seized LockBit Data Suggests Victims Who Pay Enjoy More Media Coverage. Bad news for any organization that’s ever paid a ransom in a bid to avoid their breach coming to light, or for a promise from attackers to delete stolen data, with a study of seized LockBit data finding that victims who paid…
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Ransomware Victim Warning: The Streisand Effect May Apply
Analysis of Seized LockBit Data Suggests Victims Who Pay Enjoy More Media Coverage. Bad news for any organization that’s ever paid a ransom in a bid to avoid their breach coming to light, or for a promise from attackers to delete stolen data, with a study of seized LockBit data finding that victims who paid…