Articles by Ryan Gallagher and Jamie Tarabay

US Indicts Leader of Prolific LockBit Ransomware Gang

The leader of one of the most prolific ransomware gangs was indicted and sanctioned by the US government on Tuesday, the latest effort by law enforcement authorities to crack down on rampant cybercrime. Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, a 31-year-old Russian national, …

Microsoft Faulted for ‘Inadequate’ Cyber Practices in US Report

A Chinese-state intrusion last year of Microsoft Corp. technology that enabled hackers to gather US officials’ emails “should never have occurred,” according to a report released Tuesday from a government cyber review board. The Cyber Safety Review Board, a White …

Russian Hackers Are Weaponizing Stolen Microsoft Passwords

A Russian state-sponsored hacking group that stole sensitive data from Microsoft Corp. executives is trying to leverage that information to compromise the company’s source code and other internal systems, according to the technology giant. The revelation makes clear that a …

FBI, UK Crime Agency Say They Have Disrupted LockBit Cyber Gang

A coalition of international law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and UK National Crime Agency, said they have disrupted LockBit, one of the most prolific hacker groups of all time, including shutting down websites the organization used for ransomware payments. …

US and Allies Kick Russian Hackers Off Home Routers, FBI Says

The US and its allies have disrupted access by a Russian-state sponsored hacking organization to “well over a thousand home and small business routers” used for criminal and intelligence purposes, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Thursday. Speaking at the …

Microsoft Warns Other Firms of Russian-Sponsored Group in Email Hacking

Microsoft Corp. said an account that was compromised by Russia-linked hackers, resulting in a hack of some company emails including senior leaders, didn’t have multifactor authentication enabled. The hackers “tailored their password spray attacks to a limited number of accounts, …

SEC Had a Fraught Cyber Record Long Before X Account Was Hacked

The hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account earlier this week is shining a light on an uncomfortable truth: Cybersecurity measures at Wall Street’s chief regulator have repeatedly been found to be lacking. The agency wasn’t fully …

Iranian-Linked Hacks Expose Vulnerabilities of US Water System

In late November, an Iranian-backed hacking group attacked Israeli-made digital controls commonly used in the water and wastewater industries in the US, affecting multiple organizations across several states. That same month, the North Texas Municipal Water District, which supplies water …

Ransomware Gang LockBit Revises Its Tactics to Get More Blackmail Money

LockBit, the prolific ransomware gang that has launched attacks recently on Boeing Co. and Industrial Commercial Bank of China Ltd., among others, has revised the way it tries to blackmail victims because it’s disappointed with lower-than-expected ransom payments, according to …

Palo Alto Acquires Israeli Cyber Startup Talon in M&A Push

Palo Alto Networks Inc. agreed to buy Talon Cyber Security Ltd., marking the second acquisition of an Israeli peer within a week. The deal is valued at about $625 million, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked …