BlackMatter Ransomware Defense: Just-In-Time Admin Access

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 19, 2021

How many ways do U.S. businesses need to be told to lock down their systems to safeguard themselves from ransomware? That's the focus of a new, joint cybersecurity advisory from the U.S. government pertaining to BlackMatter, following an advisory issued last month about Conti.

Breach Notification

Ransomware: No Decline in Victims Posted to Data Leak Sites

Profiles in Leadership: Dr. Frances Undelikwo, Fidelity Bank

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3rd Party Risk Management

CISA Leader Backs 24-Hour Timeline for Incident Reporting

Dan Gunderman • October 20, 2021

A top leader of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has voiced support for a 24-hour timeline for cyber incident reporting involving critical infrastructure, signaling a push by the Biden administration to implement a rapid mechanism for federal response.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Hacker in UPMC Data Theft, Fraud Case Gets Maximum Sentences

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • October 20, 2021

A federal judge has imposed the maximum sentences - a total of seven years in prison - on a hacker who earlier pleaded guilty in a conspiracy case involving the hacking of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center human resources databases and the theft of personal information of 65,000 employees - some which was sold...

3rd Party Risk Management

Ransomware Soap Opera Continues With REvil’s Latest Outage

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 20, 2021

Is there any bigger cybercrime soap opera than the life and times of ransomware operators? Take the REvil, aka Sodinokibi, ransomware-as-a-service operation, which feels like it's disappeared and reappeared more times than the secret, identical twin of the protagonist in your favorite melodrama.

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

New York Tells 2 Cryptocurrency Firms to Cease and Desist

Dan Gunderman • October 19, 2021

New York State AG Letitia James served cease and desist letters to two cryptocurrency lending platforms that her office says engage in "unregistered and unlawful activities." Three other platforms were told by the OAG to "immediately provide information about their activities and products."

Cybercrime

New Business Model: White Labeling of Ransomware

Mihir Bagwe • October 19, 2021

Researchers at cybersecurity firm Trend Micro have observed the adoption of a new franchise-based business model by ransomware operators that moves away from the traditional ransomware-as-a-service model. Operators now rebrand a "supplier" ransomware before deployment.

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

More Attempted Cyberattacks on Israeli Healthcare Entities

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • October 19, 2021

Israeli officials say they have fended off a wave of attempted cyberattacks on several hospitals and healthcare entities in recent days, as Hillel Yaffe Medical Center continues to recover from a ransomware attack last week that authorities reportedly suspect was carried out by Chinese hackers.

3rd Party Risk Management

Profiles in Leadership: Mustapha Kebbeh, CISO, Brinks

Tom Field • October 19, 2021

Ransomware and nation-state threats are daunting. But the threat that concerns Mustapha Kebbeh the most is supply chain risk. The Brinks CISO discusses how he has tackled this, as well as the challenges of tool complexity and peer collaboration.

Incident & Breach Response

Positive Security: Inspiring Behavioral Change at Workplace

Anna Delaney • October 19, 2021

To mark Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the National Cyber Security Alliance and U.K. based behavioral science and data analytics company, CybSafe, have released their Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors Report 2021, which uncovers key trends, behaviors and habits among tech users.

Critical Infrastructure Security

Preparing for Ransomware Attacks in the Education Sector

Anna Delaney • October 19, 2021

A spate of ransomware incidents affecting the education sector has led to the loss of student coursework, financial records and data relating to COVID-19 testing. Matthew Trump, senior IT security officer for the University of London, U.K., outlines incident response strategies.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Twitter Suspends North Korean Threat Actor Accounts

Mihir Bagwe • October 18, 2021

Social media platform Twitter has suspended two accounts that were being used by members of the DPRK, a North Korean government-backed threat group, according to Adam Weidemann, an analyst with the Google Threat Analysis Group. The accounts allegedly targeted security researchers around the globe.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Analysis: Top Ransomware Gangs Targeting Healthcare Sector

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • October 18, 2021

Ransomware attacks are continuing to threaten the U.S. and global healthcare sectors, in part due to many organizations' high dependency on legacy systems and lack of security resources, says new analysis by federal officials, which also identified the top ransomware gangs hitting the sector.

Breach Notification

Sinclair TV Stations Targeted in Weekend Ransomware Attack

Dan Gunderman • October 18, 2021

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., which owns or operates 186 television stations across 87 U.S. markets, has been hit with a ransomware attack that has disrupted operations. The company says the attack has impacted its ability to deliver advertisements and certain programming.