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Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Ransomware Changes: DoppelPaymer Rebrands; Babuk Evolves

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 30, 2021

The ransomware landscape changes constantly as groups disappear, change approaches or rebrand. The DoppelPaymer operation, for example, appears to have reinvented itself as Grief, while the administrator of Babuk has launched a ransomware-friendly cybercrime forum called RAMP.

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Fraud Management & Cybercrime

ISMG Editors’ Panel: Ransomware Update

Anna Delaney  •  July 30, 2021

In the latest weekly update, three editors at Information Security Media Group discuss important cybersecurity issues, including the latest ransomware trends, plus an update on NIST's "zero trust" initiative.

Critical Infrastructure Security

Analysis: Keeping Track of Ransomware Gangs

Anna Delaney  •  July 30, 2021

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report features an analysis of the disappearance of ransomware-as-a-service groups, such as REvil and Darkside, and how that impacts the wider cybercrime ecosystem. Also featured: ransomware recovery tips; regulating cyber surveillance tools.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

9 Ransomware Enablers - And Tactics for Combating Them

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 29, 2021

Ransomware operations continue to thrive thanks to a vibrant cybercrime-as-a-service ecosystem designed to support all manner of online attacks. Given that attackers first need remote access to victims' systems, robust patch management and remote desktop protocol security remain obvious must-have defenses.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Israeli Government Visits NSO Group Amid Spyware Claims

Jeremy Kirk  •  July 29, 2021

The Israeli government paid a visit on Wednesday to NSO Group, the company whose spyware is alleged to have been covertly installed on the mobile devices of journalists and activists. The visit comes as Israel faces growing pressure to see if NSO Group's spyware, called Pegasus, has been misused.

Critical Infrastructure Security

BlackMatter Ransomware Claims to Be Best of REvil, DarkSide

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 28, 2021

A new ransomware group called BlackMatter has debuted, claiming to offer the best features of REvil and DarkSide - both apparently defunct - as well as LockBit. A new attack using REvil's code has also been spotted, but a security expert says it's likely the work of a former affiliate.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Measuring Success of 'No More Ransom' Project

Rashmi Ramesh  •  July 28, 2021

Europol says the "No More Ransom" project, a portal launched five years ago, so far has helped more than 6 million ransomware victims worldwide recover their files for free so they could avoid paying almost 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in ransoms.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Pegasus Spyware: World Leaders Demand Israeli Probe

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 27, 2021

Calls are growing for an investigation into how commercial Pegasus spyware developed by Israel's NSO Group gets sold to autocratic governments and used to target journalists, lawyers, human rights advocates and others, with some lawmakers saying "the hacking-for-hire industry must be brought under control."

Governance & Risk Management

M&A Update: Deloitte and Sophos Make Acquisitions

Doug Olenick  •  July 27, 2021

Brisk M&A activity in the cybersecurity sector continues. Among the latest moves: Deloitte and Sophos each have announced two acquisitions.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Kaseya Says It Paid No Ransom to Obtain Universal Decryptor

Doug Olenick  •  July 26, 2021

Remote management software company Kaseya says it obtained the ability to decrypt all victims of a massive REvil - aka Sodinokibi - attack via its software, without paying a ransom to attackers. But Kaseya has still not revealed how it obtained the decryption key, except to say it was supplied by a third party.

Cybercrime

Attackers Rely on 'Exotic' Languages for Malware Creation

Rashmi Ramesh  •  July 26, 2021

Malware developers increasingly are relying on "exotic" programming languages - such as Go, Rust, DLang and Nim - to create malicious code that can avoid detection by security tools and add a layer of obfuscation to an attack, according to a report released Monday by BlackBerry.

Cryptocurrency Fraud

Hackers Target Kubernetes Using Misconfigured Argo Workflows

Akshaya Asokan  •  July 26, 2021

A hacking campaign is targeting Kubernetes environments using misconfigured Argo Workflows to deploy cryptominers, a report by security firm Intezer finds.