Cybercrime

Cybercrime / News Briefs

Ransomware Crisis in U.S. Healthcare

A significant ransomware attack by a group known as AlphV or BlackCat has severely disrupted pharmacies across the U.S., affecting the delivery of prescription medications for over ten days. This attack on Change Healthcare has resulted in considerable difficulties for hospital pharmacies and nationwide drug distribution. more

Global Law Enforcement Strikes Major Blow Against LockBit Ransomware Operation

In a significant global operation, law enforcement agencies from 10 countries have severely disrupted the LockBit ransomware group, recognized as the most prolific and harmful cyber threat worldwide. more

UN Treaty Threatens Cybersecurity, Warns Google

As governments convene to discuss the UN Cybercrime Treaty, Google is urging caution, warning that the current draft could endanger online security and free expression.  more

Rise in Cybercrime Exploiting Artificial Intelligence Hype Leads to Growing Threats Within the .ai Domain Space

Cybercriminals are leveraging the growing popularity of artificial intelligence to perpetrate attacks, capitalizing on the surge in interest following the release of chatbot technologies like ChatGPT. New research by Netcraft reports on the increasing use of .ai domain names where criminals use malicious websites around AI to draw in victims. more

Researchers Uncover Massive Underground Link-Shortening Service Used by Malicious Actors

New research indicates that the .US top-level domain contains numerous domains linked to a malicious link-shortening service dubbed 'Prolific Puma' promoting malware and phishing. Infoblox has been monitoring this three-year-old service, which uses short domains hosted on uncooperative providers to disguise harmful landing pages. more

UK’s National Agencies Release White Paper on Evolving Cyber Crime Ecosystem

 more

The Hague to Probe Cyberwarfare Under Existing International Law

In a recent article published by WIRED Magazine, a significant shift in international law regarding cyberwarfare has been brought to light. The International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague has signaled its intention to investigate and prosecute hacking crimes that breach existing international law without the need for new regulations. more

Phishing Attacks Surge Despite Increased Awareness, New Strategies Needed

The alarming rise of phishing attacks has been underscored by a recent study "Phishing Landscape 2023: An Annual Study of the Scope and Distribution of Phishing conducted" by the Interisle Consulting Group, revealing a tripling of such attacks since May 2020. Despite efforts by companies and policymakers to combat this cybercrime, the data suggests that the prevailing strategies are ineffective and worsening each year. more

The Rising Cost of Digital Theft and Espionage in Germany

The German digital association, Bitkom, recently announced that the cost of IT equipment theft, data breaches, digital and industrial espionage, and sabotage is expected to reach a staggering 206 billion euros ($224 billion) in 2023.  more

Meta Lawsuit Leads to Significant Decline in Phishing Domains Tied to Freenom

A lawsuit filed by Meta has led to a significant decrease in phishing websites tied to the domain name registrar Freenom. Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs in a report on Friday said that Freenom, which provides free domain name registration services, was a favored resource for cybercriminals due to its policy of protecting customer identities. more

New Research Reveals Over 340 Million Accounts Compromised in the First Four Months of 2023

Recent research conducted by the Independent Advisor reveals that a significant number of accounts, exceeding 340 million, have been compromised due to business data breaches within the first four months of 2023. Notably, Twitter experienced the largest breach this year, impacting approximately 235 million user accounts. more

Microsoft, Fortra, and Health-ISAC Take Legal Action Against the Abuse of Cobalt Strike to Combat Ransomware Attacks

A group of companies, including Microsoft, have collaborated to launch a major action to disrupt the use of cracked, legacy copies of the security tool Cobalt Strike which cybercriminals have abused to deploy ransomware. more

FBI Takes Down ‘Genesis Market’ Cybercrime Store: Dozens Arrested Worldwide

Today's FBI action against Genesis Market is the latest in a string of coordinated efforts to take down bot shops and other services that enable cybercrime. Earlier this year, the FBI seized Webstresser.org, a DDoS-for-hire service that was thought to be responsible for launching a massive attack against the City of Atlanta in 2018.  more

German Authorities Seize Servers of Cybercriminal DDoS-for-Hire Service FlyHosting

FlyHosting had been open for business since November 2022 and was used for malicious activities such as hosting malware, botnet controllers, and carrying out DDoS attacks. more

NCA Launches Campaign to Curb DDoS-for-Hire Website Use, Warns of Legal Risks

The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA) has been running a series of campaigns focused on reducing the use of DDoS-for-hire websites. These websites offer people the opportunity to purchase powerful tools to launch cyber-attacks, which can be used to knock websites or users offline. more