A U.S. State Prosecutor’s Office Paid $1,400 in Bitcoin to Ransomware Extortionists
Details of a sweeping international ransomware operation which had seen cybercriminals rake in millions in bitcoin from hundreds of thousands of victims around the world include a state prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, a report has revealed. The Avalanche group are the instigators and profiteers of ill-gotten gains from a comprehensive ransomware operation that had been active from 2010. Conservative estimates peg that the group may have compromised at least 500,000 computers around the world. A joint operation between U.S. and European Union authorities, alongside cooperation from 40....
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The FBI has changed its stance on ransomware extortionists saying people targeted should refuse to pay the bitcoin ransom despite a previous statement from the FBI encouraging victims to pay a ransom. At a recent Federal Trade Commission’s Fall Technology Series, supervisory special agent for the FBI’s Cyber Division, Will Bales, said that businesses or individuals targeted by ransomware should refuse to pay the ransom, as reported in Dark Reading. He said: People have to remember that ransomware does not affect just one person or one business. It will more than likely move on and affect....
A cyberattack targeting a Hollywood hospital laced with ransomware malware has been making rounds in mainstream news circles recently. In a separate incident, the Horry County school system in North Carolina was also struck by a ransomware cyberattack. The cyberattack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center lasted nearly a fortnight after beginning on 5 Feb, with hospital systems affected and staff declaring an ‘internal emergency’. On Wednesday, the hospital announced that it had relented and paid the ransom demanded by extortionists. $17,000 in bitcoins. The attack began on the evening....
The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has confirmed a payment of $28,000 in bitcoin toward cybercriminals wielding ransomware. The Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) was targeted by the extortionists, who successfully encrypted the college’s email systems, voicemail and computer networks. First detected on December 30, 2016, the attackers forced a week-long deadline to pay the ransom. According to independent student newspaper The Valley Star, a ransom note appeared on a compromised college server and it simply read: You have 7 days to send us the Bitcoin after 7 days we will....
Sometimes it feels like the only way Bitcoin makes headlines is either through a price change or ransomware. Cerber, one of the most dangerous types of Bitcoin ransomware alive today, has been cloned into a new variant. As a result, this undisclosed type of malware can target Office 365 users through a zero-day attack. It is very well possible millions of business users have been affected already. When malware starts to show traits of chameleon-like behavior, things are getting more worrisome than ever before. Security researchers have discovered a new form of the Cerber ransomware family,....
Why is ransomware the new rage? Denis Sinegubko, the founder of Unmask Parasites and senior malware researcher at Sucuri, a network security firm, notes in a Sucuri blog that the answer to this question has to do with the way ransomware demands are paid. Unlike false anti-viruses that were mostly harmless and made people pay to remove non-existing threats, ransomware is a more serious challenge since it disables the computer unless a ransom is paid. Ransomware schemes were not available five to eight years ago. Ransomware could not accept PayPal or credit cards since those transactions are....