Cybercriminals took advantage of an open MongoDB database containing data from Choice Hotels and stole 700,000 customer records and then demanded a $3,800 ransom payment for their return. The unsecured third-party database was first uncovered by Comparitech and security researcher Bob Diachenko, but despite quick action on their part informing Choice of the problem, malicious…
IBM Security’s X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services (IRIS) team reported this week that it witnessed a 200 percent increase in destructive malware attacks over the first half of 2019, compared to the second half of 2018. These malware attacks typically incorporated a disk wiper component to them. Wipers are historically associated with nation-state-sponsored attacks…
Researchers have come across a new proxy malware program that’s being delivered by the RIG and Fallout exploit kits as part of a larger campaign to infect victims with malicious payloads such as the Danabot banking trojan. Proofpoint’s Threat Insight Team began to track the malware, called SystemBC, on June 4 when it was observed…
The Watertown (New York) city school district is the latest to be hit with a cyberattack. School district Superintendent Patricia LaBarr did not specify the type of attack that took place, but said it happened on July 27 and an outside security firm and law enforcement have been brought in to help. “At this time,…
Researchers have come across a new Android ransomware family, nicknamed Android/Filecoder.C. that uses victims’ contact lists in an attempt to spread through SMS texts containing malicious links. According to ESET, Android/Filecoder.C. is poorly constructed and uses an encryption method that can be defeated without using the decryptor keys. However, the malicious actors did not get…
The Georgia State Patrol was reportedly the target of a July 26 ransomware attack that has necessitated the precautionary shutdown of its servers and network. Per local news affiliate WHNT, the GSP has confirmed that the incidence could slightly impact response times; however, members of the force still have other channels of communication such as…
An analysis of 3.9 million online posts published on underground forums found that ransomware, crypters and trojans were the most frequently referenced categories of malware and malicious tools – an indication of their popularity among forum visitors and potential cybercriminals. Web shells, remote access trojans, adware, computer viruses, FUD (fully undetectable) crypters, exploit kits and rootkits – in that…
Evidence is reportedly mounting that the recently discovered ransomware program known as Sodinokibi was created by the same developers who introduced GandCrab ransomware. Last month, GandCrab’s developers publicly disclosed that they were retiring after raking in roughly $2 billion in extortion payments. But this announcement may have been misleading at best, according to security researcher…
Eurofins Scientific, the U.K.’s largest provider of forensic services, paid up after a ransomware attack a month ago. The company carries out DNA testing, toxicology analysis, firearms testing and computer forensics for police forces across the country so court hearings were postponed as a result of the attack due to the results of analysis conducted…
La Porte County, Ind., was hit with a cyberattack on July 6 that knocked the county government’s systems offline. Few details on the attack were released, but La Porte County Board of Commissioners President Dr. Vidya Kora told The News Dispatch access to the county’s website and email will be down as officials attempt to…
