ransomware News

Pennsylvania Counties Still Restoring Systems After Cyber Incidents

Two Pennsylvania county governments — Bucks and Washington— reported some progress this week restoring computer systems and overcoming the effects of cyber incidents. But both still have work to do to return to business-as-usual more than a week after they …

US Disabled Chinese Hacking Network Targeting Critical Infrastructure, Sources Say

The U.S. government in recent months launched an operation to fight a pervasive Chinese hacking operation that successfully compromised thousands of internet-connected devices, according to two Western security officials and one person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department and …

Global Ransomware Attacks Reach Record High in 2023, Says Corvus

Despite law enforcement actions, fourth quarter 2023 ransomware incidents still surpassed 2022 by nearly 70%, and the number of active ransomware groups grew by 34%. Corvus Insurance recently released its Q4 2023 Ransomware Report, featuring data collected from ransomware leak …

Viewpoint: How Corporate Help Desks Became the Weak Spot in Cyber Defenses

The cyberattack on MGM Resorts in September 2023 provides a vivid example of the effects these types of attacks can have in today’s complex and interconnected IT environments. MGM estimates the incident-related costs at upwards of $100 million, after the …

Wall Street Stock-Lending Platform Crashes in Ransomware Attack

The criminal hacking gang LockBit said it was behind a ransomware attack that shut down some of the operations of EquiLend, a financial-technology firm that processes trillions of dollars of securities-lending transactions every month. The company, partly owned by some …

US Seizes BlackCat Ransomware Site, Offering Decryption Tool

The US Justice Department seized websites belonging to a notorious Russian-speaking ransomware group, upending hackers that have extorted millions of dollars from victims around the world. The website for the extortion group BlackCat, also known as ALPHV or Noberus, on …

Clorox, Boeing, MGM and More: Why Big Hacks Have Surged in 2023

Widely disruptive, large-scale hacks are surging. After a lull in 2022, ransomware attacks on high-value targets such as big companies, banks, hospitals or government agencies, have seen a “massive uptick” this year, rising 51% through late November, according to cybersecurity …

Ransomware Prompts Multistate Hospital Chain to Divert Some ER Patients

A ransomware attack has prompted a healthcare chain that operates 30 hospitals in six states to divert patients from at least some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals, while putting certain elective procedures on pause, the company announced. In …

Schools Look to Improve Cybersecurity, but Many Vulnerable to Ransomware

Some K-12 public schools are racing to improve protection against the threat of online attacks, but lax cybersecurity means thousands of others are vulnerable to ransomware gangs that can steal confidential data and disrupt operations. Since a White House conference …

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 …