Executive Summary Beginning in late 2021 and continuing late into 2022, a globally active, extortion-focused cyber threat actor group attacked dozens of well-known companies and government agencies around the world. It penetrated corporate networks, stole source code, demanded payments while rarely following up, lodged political messages in shadowy online forums, and swiftly moved on to…
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Russian National Arrested and Charged with Conspiring to Commit LockBit Ransomware Attacks Against U.S. and Foreign Businesses
The Justice Department today announced charges against a Russian national for his involvement in deploying numerous LockBit ransomware and other cyberattacks against victim computer systems in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov (АСТАМИРОВ, Руслан Магомедовичь), 20, of Chechen Republic, will make his initial appearance later today. “This Lockbit-related arrest, the second…
Russian National Charged with Ransomware Attacks Against Critical Infrastructure
The Justice Department today unsealed two indictments charging a Russian national and resident with using three different ransomware variants to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including law enforcement agencies in Washington, D.C. and New Jersey, as well as victims in healthcare and other sectors nationwide. According to the indictment obtained in the District…
CISA Releases Recovery Tool for VMware Ransomware Victims
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…
Canadian police arrest suspected LockBit ransomware operator (updated)
Is the end of LockBit near? First an irate developer leaked the builder code for LockBit 3.0 code on GitHub in September. And now one of their big operators has been arrested in Canada. Howard Solomon reports: Canadian police have arrested a Russian citizen who they say is one of the world’s most prolific ransomware…
Hacker and Ransomware Designer “Nosophoros” Charged for Use and Sale of Ransomware, and Profit Sharing Arrangements with Cybercriminals
A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging Moises Luis Zagala Gonzalez (Zagala), also known as “Nosophoros,” “Aesculapius” and “Nebuchadnezzar,” a citizen of France and Venezuela who resides in Venezuela, with attempted computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit computer intrusions. The charges stem from Zagala’s use and sale of…