Tagged: ransomware

November 6, 2019 @ 12:30 am By Cali Haan  |  

A ransomware attack that disabled government communications systems in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut November 2nd is part of a pattern of attacks being launched against non-US targets, cybersecurity firm Emsisoft claims. The company says ransomware attacks are increasingly being directed at municipalities, hospitals and… Read More

September 28, 2019 @ 9:14 am By Cali Haan  |  

Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft has released, “a new free decryption tool for the WannaCryFake ransomware strain.” The tool helps victims restore data locked up (encrypted) in a WannaCryFake ransomware attack. Municipalities, public services providers and private companies across North America have been contending with record numbers… Read More

August 19, 2019 @ 9:53 pm By Cali Haan  |  

At least twenty local governments in Texas are now coping with a “coordinated ransomware attack on municipality computer systems,” the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) reports. Affected cities and towns are not named in the release. A response is being coordinated by the Texas Division of… Read More

May 17, 2019 @ 9:12 am By Cali Haan  |  

Hackers demanding an $80,000 USD ransom in Bitcoins have disabled 21 Baltimore City agencies, and many systems are still down despite several weeks of efforts by technicians to abate the hacks, The Baltimore Sun reports. New Baltimore Mayor Bernard Young has remained steadfast on his… Read More

April 27, 2019 @ 5:58 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Officials from the Cleveland Mayor’s Office are reportedly downplaying the significance of what appears to have been a successful ransomware attack on flight info, baggage and email systems at the Cleveland Airport, WTOC reports. Those systems are currently down, though “no hacking” has taken place… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 9:40 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Microsoft has found that ransomware and cryptomining hackers are finding the most success in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Tanzania and Zambia, while the UAE, South Africa and Namibia have proven themselves as the most secure nations in Africa and the Middle East when it comes to repelling cryptocurrency-motivated… Read More

April 7, 2019 @ 11:51 am By Cali Haan  |  

Two recent ransomware attacks on real estate companies may exemplify recent claims from cybersecurity experts that hackers are increasingly targeting medium-sized and smaller companies as larger entities tighten their online security. In January of this year, cybersecurity staff from BoostIT and workers at a real… Read More

April 2, 2019 @ 10:21 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A number of high-profile ransomware attacks in the early months of this year have put a spotlight on the importance of firms working to prevent them. In March, operations at Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro and American chemical companies Hexion and Momentive were interrupted by… Read More

March 30, 2019 @ 5:34 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Global insurance firm Hiscox is the now second insurance firm known to have refused to pay out a company damaged in a NotPetya cyberattack, Verdict reports. It is believed that Hiscox has made the refusal because the Russian government was accused by the UK of… Read More

March 29, 2019 @ 3:32 am By Cali Haan  |  

Operations at the American chemical firms Hexion and Momentive were disrupted March 12th when company computer systems were locked up by LockerGoga ransomware, Motherboard reports. LockerGoga is the same ransomware experts believe was used to cripple operations at American and European aluminum smelters run by… Read More

March 21, 2019 @ 6:34 am By Cali Haan  |  

Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro says a ransomware attack that started late Monday night interrupted production at company facilities in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports. Unknown attackers reportedly switched “potlines” to manual mode during the attack. Potlines are used to keep metal molten and… Read More

March 19, 2019 @ 9:36 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Officials in Jackson County, Georgia, have relented and paid a $400 000 ransom in bitcoins to restore county IT systems disabled by Ryuk ransomware since March 1st, Bank Info Security reports. The FBI and local law enforcement are now investigating the attack. Jackson County now… Read More

March 15, 2019 @ 6:29 am By Cali Haan  |  

Ryuk ransomware has been used to lock up files at Boston’s Committee for Public Counsel Services, a public defenders office that provides lawyers to those who cannot afford them, The Boston Globe reports. Fortunately, the agency was able to refuse to pay a cryptocurrency ransom… Read More

March 14, 2019 @ 7:41 am By Cali Haan  |  

2018 was an eventful year for ransomware attacks on North American soil and elsewhere. In November, the American Justice Department indicted two Iranians for alleged ransomware attacks on 200 government, institutional and private targets in the US, including an attack on the Port of San… Read More

February 22, 2019 @ 7:50 am By Cali Haan  |  

In January, a private heart clinic located in a Melbourne’s Cabrini hospital had 15 000 patients’ medical records locked in a ransomware attack that emanated from Russia or North Korea, 9News reports. A cryptocurrency ransom to unlock the data was subsequently demanded. The records were… Read More

February 17, 2019 @ 4:49 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Be careful: that romantic email from an unknown suitor could end up grabbing your data. So say cybersecurity researchers at the Mimecast Threat Labs, who warned the public this week that random emails offering gifts, flowers or other friendly gestures may contain infectious links designed… Read More

January 14, 2019 @ 1:26 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Researchers at Crowdstrike, FireEye, Kryptos Logic, and McAfee are all reporting that ransomware known as Ryuk is, in fact, being proliferated by professional hack groups in Russia, and not by North Koreans, ZDNet reports. According to the outlet: “The era of individual ransomware operations appears to be ending, with fewer… Read More

September 16, 2018 @ 9:36 am By Cali Haan  |  

Malware leaked from the NSA’s tool chest over a year ago is now being used to mine cryptocurrencies secretly on infected Windows systems, TechCrunch reports, and worse attacks could follow if enterprises and governments don’t patch the vulnerability. The problem began in April 2017, when… Read More