Former UK Cybersecurity Chief Says Laws Needed to Stop Ransomware Pay Outs

A former U.K. cybersecurity chief has raised concerns that ransomware incidents are close to “getting out of control.” Ciaran Martin has also called for laws to prevent people from paying bitcoin to cybercriminals. Former Official Claims Most of the Cybercriminals Are Based in Russia During an interview with The Guardian, Martin, who was the head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), pointed out that insurance firms are indirectly funding organized crimes in ransomware incidents. Martin believes that companies’ insurance claims from ransomware attacks help....

A new report by two cybersecurity firms has revealed that one ransomware family is particularly successful, raking in over $150 million in bitcoin. The ransom payments “sometimes amount to millions of dollars and typically run in the hundreds of thousands range.” Ransomware Makes $150 Million in Bitcoin The Ryuk ransomware family has raked in $150 million in bitcoin, according to a joint report by cybersecurity firms Advanced Intel and Hyas. “The Ryuk family of ransomware has been particularly successful in economic terms as well as having a disruptive impact on many....

The new GoldenEye ransomware poses as a resume to infect computers belonging to HR departments. James Bond, the fictional spy, has met his match when it comes to deception. A new ransomware named after one of the Bond movies, GoldenEye infects work computers by posing as a job application. According to cybersecurity researchers, the GoldenEye ransomware is a variant of previously known Petya ransomware. The ransomware targets the HR departments of the companies as they receive hundreds if not thousands of emails from unknown people applying for job positions. A well-crafted mail delivers....

Two ransomware strains, CoinVault and Bitcryptor have been put to bed due to the joint efforts of law enforcement in Netherland and an independent cybersecurity firm. The authors of the malware sought ransom payments from victims in Bitcoin. Ransomware thieves who took Bitcoin payments in return for victims to access their files freely after their rogue file-locking methods have been put out of work. Two authors who allegedly developed the ransomware were arrested in Netherlands and Kaspersky, a cybersecurity firm has confirmed that it has amassed 14,000 decryption keys that are required....

The European Union (EU) parliament has approved a new set of cybersecurity laws, ordering firms in “essential service” industries like banking, health, energy and transport to bolster their defenses against cyber-attacks. The EU network and information security (NIS) directive represents the first EU-wide standards on cybersecurity. According to an EU parliament statement, they are designed to increase cooperation between member states as well as to prevent attacks on EU countries’ interconnected infrastructure. EU Parliament rapporteur Andreas Schwab said: “Cybersecurity incidents very....