Phil Muncaster reports: The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published a new script designed to help ransomware victims recover any VMware virtual machines (VMs) impacted by a current global campaign. Ransomware payment tracker Ransomwhere estimated the number of victims at 3800, based on an “internet-wide” scanning effort on Monday. It said four payments had been made…
Category: Of Note
Hong Kong police and Interpol uncover servers and apps used by global phishing syndicate
Clifford Lo reports: Hong Kong police have cracked the local operation of an international phishing syndicate that used 563 bogus mobile applications to spy on phones globally and steal information. Officers also tracked down 258 servers around the world that were linked with the apps, according to Senior Superintendent Raymond Lam Cheuk-ho of the force’s…
More lawsuits filed over Knox College ransomware attack
By early December 2022, Hive ransomware gang had not only claimed responsibility for an attack on Knox College, but when the college hadn’t paid their demand, they contacted students directly. As NBC reported, the emails sought to get students to pressure the college to pay: “We have compromised your collage networks,” the email said, written…
Major Cybercrime Crackdown: Encrypted Messenger Exclu Seized
Waqas reports: So far, authorities have arrested 48 people in connection with Exclu, discovered two drug labs and a cocaine-processing facility, and confiscated $4.3 million, several kilograms of drugs, and luxury items. European law-enforcement authorities have seized Exclu, an encrypted communication service that cybercriminals used as their primary channel to carry out organized crime, mainly…
Daylong 988 Suicide Line Outage Was Caused By Cyberattack
Amanda Seitz of AP reported: A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials told The Associated Press Friday. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. “On December 1, the voice calling functionality of the 988 Lifeline…
Italy warns hackers targeting known server vulnerability
Reuters reports: Thousands of computer servers have been targeted by a global ransomware hacking attack targeting VMware (VMW.N) ESXi servers, Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) said on Sunday, warning organisations to take action to protect their systems. The hacking attack sought to exploit a software vulnerability, ACN director general Roberto Baldoni told Reuters, adding it was on…