Apple has patched a vulnerability in iCloud for Windows and iTunes for Windows that malicious actors had been exploiting to evade antivirus and endpoint detection and response systems as they attempted to infect machines with ransomware. Specifically, the zero-day flaw was discovered in Bonjour – a mechanism for delivering future updates and also for helping…
Decryptors are now publicly available for a pair of ransomware programs that recently emerged onto the scene. One is the result of a victim hacking back, while the other stems from the developer’s decision to release the master private decryption keys. The first case involves a ransomware called Muhstik that’s been using AES-256 to maliciously…
OCT. 12 UPDATE: On Oct. 10, DCH lifted its diversion protocol and began accepting all patients again in its Emergency Departments. Outpatient imaging for DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center resumed normal operations on Oct. 11. DCH continues to work on restoring its systems. Forced to turn away certain patients following a ransomware…
The FBI yesterday issued a new public service announcement regarding the ongoing ransomware epidemic, emphasizing that attacks are becoming more targeted since early 2018, with losses increasingly significantly in that time. The alert is intended to update and supplement a previous ransomware warning that the FBI issued back in September 2016, and specifically identifies state…
DCH Health Systems is turning away all but the most critical patients from its three hospitals in response to its computer network being rendered unusable by a ransomware attack. One day prior several hospital’s in Australia were also forced offline by a ransomware attack. The attack hit DCH on October 1 prompting the Alabama hospital…
The crudely written ransom notes in movies 20-30 years ago may have been replaced by more modern, digital missives – like a texted photo a la Liam Neeson’s “Taken” – but the message remains the same: Pay up or else. That is the quandary business owners, municipal governments, school administrators and even librarians are now…
Literally countless life or death situations were at stake. A large medical provider recently was hit with a ransomware attack request for $3.5 million. “They had to pay,” explains Ondrej Krehel, CEO of New York-based LIFARS, which managed the response. The medical company’s critical servers for its 300 locations were breached, and recovery from the…
In cybersecurity terms, is there anything more Darwin-esque than ransomware? Small variations in targets, attacks, points of entry, payout and even attacker priorities have saved it from extinction and increased its ability to compete, survive and reproduce just as Charles Darwin contended organisms developed. Unfortunately, though, those attacks have evolved into a greater menace for…
Ransomware is everywhere. It plagues businesses big and small, across the globe, even in the most hidden corners. Still, over the past year, certain industries have been feeling the pain more than others. A Malwarebytes quarterly report released last August found that detections of ransomware among organizations rose 365 percent from Q2 2018 to Q2…
At a fairly recent conference for financial institutions that was offering open, candid discussions and interactive training for cybersecurity leaders in attendance, ransomware was THE hot topic. In fact, this rising attack-type merited a half day of training that involved numerous three-letter agencies. The reasons for this are simple. As SC Media journalists this month…
