ransomware

TechRepublic Exclusive: New Ransomware Attacks are Getting More Personal as Hackers ‘Apply Psychological Pressure'

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TechRepublic Exclusive: New Ransomware Attacks are Getting More Personal as Hackers ‘Apply Psychological Pressure'

Image: rthanuthattaphong/Envato Elements Experts warn that desperate ransomware attackers are shifting focus from businesses to individuals, applying “psychological pressure” with personal threats that bring digital extortion into the physical world. In one stunning recent example, Guy Segal and Moty Cristal from ransomware negotiator and incident response firm Sygnia said a threat actor personally called an executive’s mobile phone and referenced sensitive details extracted from the company’s internal system. “During the call, they referenced personal information,…

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FBI 'Increasingly Seeing' Malware Distributed In Document Converters

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FBI 'Increasingly Seeing' Malware Distributed In Document Converters

Image: iStockphoto/domoyega Threat actors may attempt to distribute malware, including ransomware, by offering free document converters, according to a March 7 report from the FBI’s Denver office. “Agents are increasingly seeing” this type of scam. The scheme has been deployed globally, the FBI warned. How the document conversion scam works Threat actors behind the document converter scam disguise malicious software as a legitimate tool for file conversion. The software may claim to convert .doc files…

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Medusa Ransomware: FBI & CISA Urge Immediate Action

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Medusa Ransomware: FBI & CISA Urge Immediate Action

Image: DC_Studio/Envato Elements Federal cybersecurity officials are raising red flags over a surge in attacks by the Medusa ransomware group. First detected in June 2021, the group has gained traction recently by using basic but effective methods — like phishing emails and exploiting outdated software — to break into systems and hold data hostage. In a joint advisory released last week, the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and…

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SonicWall Report: “Threat Actors are Moving at Unprecedented Speeds”

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SonicWall Report: “Threat Actors are Moving at Unprecedented Speeds”

SonicWall’s new 2025 Annual Threat Report highlights startling revelations, including that hackers exploited new vulnerabilities within two days 61% of the time, and that it takes the average organization between 120 and 150 days to apply a patch. In addition, the firm’s researchers detected 210,258 “never-before-seen” malware variants in 2024. Researchers reported that, in 2024, the average ransomware payment reached $850,700, with total related losses often exceeding $4.91 million when factoring in downtime and recovery…

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Data Theft Drove 94% of Cyberattacks in 2024

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Data Theft Drove 94% of Cyberattacks in 2024

Data theft accounted for 94% of all cyber attacks worldwide in 2024, according to new research, as cybercriminals increasingly combine data exfiltration with encryption in ransomware campaigns. Beyond encryption, ransomware attackers now threaten to leak or sell a company’s data on the dark web if victims refuse to pay. Stolen information often includes personally identifiable data and proprietary intellectual property. The findings come from BlackFog’s 2024 Ransomware Trend Report, which analysed ransomware activity across hundreds…

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Darktrace: 96% of Phishing Attacks in 2024 Exploited Trusted Domains

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Darktrace: 96% of Phishing Attacks in 2024 Exploited Trusted Domains

Threat actors are increasingly targeting trusted business platforms such as Dropbox, SharePoint, and QuickBooks in their phishing email campaigns and leveraging legitimate domains to bypass security measures, a new report released today has found. By embedding sender addresses or payload links within legitimate domains, attackers evade traditional detection methods and deceive unsuspecting users. According to Darktrace’s Annual Threat Report 2024, the authors detected more than 30.4 million phishing emails, reinforcing phishing as the preferred attack…

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Ransomware Payments Decreased by 35% in 2024

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Ransomware Payments Decreased by 35% in 2024

Ransomware payments took an unexpected plunge in 2024, dropping 35% to approximately $813.55 million — despite payouts surpassing $1 billion for the first time in 2023. The decline was largely driven by a series of successful law enforcement takedowns and improved cyber hygiene, which enabled more victims to refuse payment, according to blockchain platform Chainalysis. The drop came as a surprise, considering the upward trend seen earlier in the year. In fact, ransomware actors extorted…

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Healthcare can — and must — learn from 2024’s devastating cyberattacks

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Healthcare can — and must — learn from 2024’s devastating cyberattacks

It was a rough year for cybersecurity in the healthcare industry. Providers remain opportune targets because of relatively limited security budgets, a vulnerability to downtime, valuable patient data, and insufficient monitoring of fast-scaling Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices and other network-connected equipment. Ideally, absorbing the lessons of these attacks enables healthcare delivery organizations to move faster: faster to implement sufficient protections that deter attacks with harder targets, and faster to respond when attacks do…

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UK Considers Banning Ransomware Payments

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UK Considers Banning Ransomware Payments

The U.K. government is considering banning ransomware payments to make critical industries “unattractive targets for criminals.” It would apply to all public sector bodies and critical national infrastructure, which includes NHS trusts, schools, local councils, and data centres. Currently, all government departments nationwide are banned from paying cyber criminals to decrypt their data or prevent it from being leaked. This rule intends to protect the services and infrastructure the British public relies on from financial…

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Protect 3 Devices With This Maximum Security Software

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Protect 3 Devices With This Maximum Security Software

TL;DR: Protect your privacy on three devices with a 1-year subscription to Trend Micro Maximum Security for $19.99 (reg. $49.99). Cyber threats have become more sophisticated, and even cautious users can find themselves vulnerable to ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, and identity theft. A single click on the wrong link or a cleverly disguised email can lead to encrypted files, stolen credentials, or compromised accounts. Tech-savvy users know how to spot the signs of a scam…

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