Websites offering cracked versions of popular software programs have recently been serving up adware bundles that secretly deliver a variant of STOP ransomware. According to a pair of reports from Bleeping Computer founder Lawrence Abrams, the scheme came to light in December 2018 with the appearance of the malicious encryptor “Djvu” – so named because…
Another city was hit with a ransomware attack which knocked daily services back into the era of the pen and Pad. Last week, the city of Del Rio, Texas was hit with a ransomware attack which forced city officials to shut down the servers at its city hall and deny employees access to the system,…
Multiple researchers are linking the Ryuk ransomware that disrupted the operations of multiple U.S. newspapers in late 2018 to the Emotet and TrickBot trojans. In so doing, some analysts have now also shifted blame for the attack from North Korean actors to cybercriminals, possibly from Russia, while others maintain that attribution efforts are premature. Crowdstrike,…
The man accused of hacking into Pippa Middleton’s iCloud account is now wanted by U.S. authorities for allegedly blackmailing healthcare companies. In 2016, 37-year-old Nathan Wyatt was cleared of charges claiming he gain unauthorized access to Middleton’s iCloud account and stole more than 3,000 pictures which were then hawked to several newspapers in the…
The Bridgeport, Conn., school district was hit with a ransomware attack last weekend. The Connecticut Post reported the district’s IT department became aware of the problem and worked over the weekend to limit the damage caused and to begin recovery efforts. Schools Superintendent Aresta Johnson told the Post no data was compromised and while it…
Here’s how the healthcare industry can protect itself during the busy holiday hacking season The healthcare ransomware conundrum When ransomware hits a hospital, lives are on the line. Ed Tittel looks at how to deal with cyberattacks when lives are at stake The medical services industry is in a uniquely vulnerable position when it comes…
The Toledo-based Dental Center of Northwest Ohio has disclosed that a ransomware attack affecting its local third-party IT vendor may be endangered personal data belonging to current and former patients and employees. The IT vendor, Arakyta, informed the health care provider of the possible breach situation around Sept. 1, 2018, the health care provider said in…
Before the phish gets its way, it is essential to have email security down pat. Lee Sustar looks at how tech and face-to-face education improve your defenses. Users in large organizations are firewalled, proxied, scanned, logged and analyzed, around the clock and worldwide. Companies find all kinds of ways to protect their email, but still,…
A continued rise in cryptojacking and growth in coin-miner malware returned to unprecedented levels after a temporary slowdown in the second quarter of 2018 highlight the trends in McAfee Advanced Threat Research’s December report. Analyzing threats that emerged in the third quarter, the report cited two new exploit kits: Fallout and Underminer. “Fallout almost certainly…
End of the year wrap-ups always want to name a year something, like the “Year of Ransomware” or the “Year of Artificial Intelligence,” but it would be difficult to pin 2018 to a specific threat or trend, as so many reared their ugly heads. With that noted, it is pretty simple to define the year…
