Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers announces the unsealing of an indictment charging six Russian intelligence agents with hacking.

6 Takeaways: Russian Spies Accused of Destructive Hacking

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 20, 2020

U.S. officials have accused the Russian government of behaving "maliciously or irresponsibly" by taking steps such as crashing Ukraine power grids in the dead of winter and causing more than $10 billion in damages via NotPetya malware. But why make the accusations now? And how might Moscow respond?

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Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Analysis: Will Trickbot Takedown Impact Be Temporary?

Latest

Cybercrime

Trickbot Rebounds After 'Takedown'

Doug Olenick • October 20, 2020

The recent "takedown" of Trickbot by Microsoft and others had only a temporary effect; the botnet's activity levels have already rebounded, according to Crowdstrike and other security firms.

Governance & Risk Management

Sensitive Voicemail Transcripts Exposed

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • October 19, 2020

A security researcher recently discovered an unsecure Elasticsearch database cluster exposed on the internet that contained transcripts of sensitive voicemail messages, including some for medical clinics and financial service companies.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Instagram Investigated for Exposure of Minors' Details

Jeremy Kirk • October 19, 2020

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner has launched an investigation into whether Facebook's Instagram service improperly displayed the email addresses and phone numbers of minors on its platform. Facebook, Instagram's owner, could face a GDPR fine if it's found to have violated privacy requirements.

Critical Infrastructure Security

Google Offers Fresh Details on China-Linked Hacking Group

Akshaya Asokan • October 17, 2020

A report from Google's Threat Analysis Group offers fresh details about the hacking group that targeted Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign with phishing emails earlier this year. The phishing effort was linked to a little-known hacking group called APT31, which has connections to China.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

20 Arrested in Money-Laundering Crackdown

Prajeet Nair • October 16, 2020

A international law enforcement operation involving 16 countries has resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals suspected of belonging to the QQAAZZ criminal network, which helped launder cash and cryptocurrency for other cybercriminals.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Iranian Hacking Group Suspected of Deploying Ransomware

Akshaya Asokan • October 16, 2020

A hacking group with links to Iran's government is suspected of using ransomware in attempts to damage the systems of organizations in Israel and other countries, the security firm ClearSky reports.

Endpoint Security

Singapore Launches IoT Cybersecurity Labelling

Jeremy Kirk • October 16, 2020

Singapore has launched an IoT cybersecurity labelling program intended to improve the baseline security of internet-connected consumer products. The program is voluntary, but Singapore eventually intends to make it mandatory.

Cybercrime as-a-service

Analysis: Ransomware Dominates the Cybercrime Landscape

Anna Delaney • October 16, 2020

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes a new report that labels ransomware as the No. 1 cybercrime threat. Also featured: A former FBI agent offers an update on "disruptionware" attacks; how Tesla's autopilot is tricked by phantom images.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Ransomware: Would Banning Ransom Payments Mitigate Threat?

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 16, 2020

As ransomware continues to slam organizations, a lively debate has ensued about whether ransom payments should be banned in all cases. Attempting to ban ransom payments, however, likely would only make the problem worse.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Another Threat Group Joins Ransomware Extortion Racket

Chinmay Rautmare • October 15, 2020

A newly identified financially motivated threat group, dubbed "FIN11," is deploying Clop ransomware and exfiltrating data from its targets for extortion efforts, according to researchers at FireEye Mandiant.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Iranian Hacking Group Again Targets Universities

Akshaya Asokan • October 15, 2020

A hacking group with suspected ties to Iran's government is again targeting universities in the U.S. and around the world, according to researchers with security firm Malwarebytes. "Silent Librarian" typically attempts to steal intellectual property.

Cryptocurrency Fraud

Criminals Still Going Crazy for Cryptocurrency

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 15, 2020

Cybercrime wouldn't exist as we know it today without there being a multitude of technologies and services that criminals have been able to turn to their advantage, and cryptocurrency is one of the prime examples, especially when it comes to ransomware, darknet markets and money laundering.