Catalin Cimpanu reports: The builder for the Babuk Locker ransomware was leaked online this week, allowing easy access to an advanced ransomware strain to any would-be criminal group looking to get into the ransomware scene with little to no development effort. According to a copy of the leak, obtained and tested by The Record, the Babuk…
Category: Malware
Bits ‘n Pieces, Part 2: Some Non-U.S. Incidents (updated)
The Czech Republic Institut plánování a rozvoje hl. m. Prahy (IPR) (the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital The City of Prague (IPR) reported (machine translation) that it had been infected with a crypto miner virus which used the computing capacity of the institute for crypto currency mining. For preventive reasons, it was necessary to…
UK: Sepa recovery from ransomware attack could take years
BBC reports: Scotland’s environmental watchdog has said it could take years to fully recover from a cyber attack. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had more than 4,000 digital files stolen by hackers on Christmas Eve. Chief executive Terry A’Hearn revealed it is now building a new IT system from scratch. Sepa said it had backup…
Arrested Clop gang members laundered over $500M in ransomware payments
Catalin Cimpanu reports: The members of the Clop ransomware gang that were arrested last week in Ukraine as part of an international law enforcement action also operated money laundering services for multiple cybercrime groups. According to cryptocurrency exchange portal Binance, the group engaged in both cyber-attacks and “a high-risk exchanger” that laundered funds for the Clop ransomware…
Westfield clerk, mayor battle over spyware installed on city hall computers
Richard Essex reports: Spyware was found on all of the computers in the Westfield clerk treasurer’s office, and now she and the mayor are battling in court about it. This particular software allows remote access to all the data stored in that office, which includes information for a dozen city bank accounts, and personal information…
City of Liege, Belgium hit by ransomware
Catalin Cimpanu reports: Liege, the third biggest city in Belgium, has suffered today a ransomware attack that has disrupted the municipality’s IT network and online services. Following the attack, most of the city’s civil status and population services are down, Liege officials said on a status page today. Read more on The Record.