Security

North Korea-backed threat actors hacked more crypto platforms than ever in 2023 but stole less of the digital currency in total than in 2022. Crypto research firm Chainalysis has found that North Korean adversaries stole slightly over $1.0bn in 2023, compared with around $1.7bn in 2022. The 2022 spike, which set a record of stolen

The emergence of cybercrime-as-a-service (RaaS) has lowered the entry barrier into cybercrime by allowing cybercriminals to specialize in only one aspect of the attack supply chain. This can be coding malware, developing phishing kits, crafting initial access methods, releasing vulnerability exploits, or sharing data dumps listing potential victims. However, at the end of the chain,

The UK government has published a new Code of Practice on cybersecurity governance, targeting directors and other senior business leaders. The draft document aims to establish cybersecurity as a key focus for businesses, on par with financial and legal risks. The code highlights a number of areas business leaders should focus on to enhance their

A lack of understanding combined with budgetary squeezes are significant obstacles for organization’s navigating data privacy and compliance with data protection laws, according to industry body ISACA. In The State of Data Privacy in 2024 report, ISACA found that over half (57%) of cyber professionals are not confident in their organization’s privacy team’s ability to

Cybersecurity researchers at Proofpoint have identified the resurgence of TA866 in email threat campaigns after a hiatus of nine months.  Writing in an advisory published today, the firm said it thwarted a large-scale campaign on January 11 involving several thousand emails primarily targeting North America.  The malicious emails, adopting an invoice-themed guise, were equipped with

South Africa, known to be ‘the world’s most internet-addicted country,’ finds itself plagued by the internet’s dark underbelly: ransomware. It is the most targeted nation in Africa for these cyber-attacks and places eighth globally, according to the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Despite its digital dependency, the country’s cyber strategy is still

Russian threat group Coldriver has expanded its targeting of Western officials with the use of malware to steal sensitive data, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has revealed. Coldriver, AKA Star Blizzard, is linked to Russia’s intelligence service, the FSB. It is known to focus on credential phishing campaigns targeting high-profile NGOs, former intelligence and military

One of the UK’s leading cybersecurity agencies has announced plans to convene a new group of industry experts who will help it track existing and emerging threats to the nation. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said its new Cyber League would bring together both its own and third-party experts to “work on the biggest

With elections expected to occur in over 50 countries in 2024, the misinformation threat will be top of mind. OpenAI, the developer of the AI chatbot ChatGPT and the image generator DALL-E, has announced new measures to prevent abuse and misinformation ahead of big elections this year. In a January 15 post, the firm announced

Crypto heists increased in volume by 42% in 2023, with 283 incidents, according to an analysis by consumer awareness firm Comparitech. This compares to 199 crypto theft incidents in 2022. However, the total monetary value stolen in 2023 fell by 51% in 2022, from $3.55bn to $1.75bn. Worryingly, $16.93m of crypto has already been stolen

The British Library has begun restoring its online services as it continues to recover from last year’s ransomware attack. Sir Roly Keating, Chief Executive at the institution, confirmed in a blog post that the main British Library catalogue will return online on Monday, January 15. This includes details of its printed books, journals, maps, music

Cybercriminal are exploiting employee desires for job satisfaction and orgnaizations’ promise of benefits with a flurry of phishing scams. Pay raises, promotions, holiday bonuses and other ‘life-impacting’ updates are attractive phishing lures, email security provider Cofense warned in a January 10 blog post. A typical approach is to embed links to commodity software used by

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has urged critical infrastructure organizations to address vulnerabilities affecting nine industrial control systems (ICS) products. The report, dated January 11, 2024, highlighted a series of high and critical severity vulnerabilities in products widely used in sectors like energy, manufacturing and transportation. Users and administrators in these sectors

A vulnerability has been discovered in a popular Bosch smart thermostat, allowing potential attackers to send commands to the device and replace its firmware, according to Bitdefender. The vulnerability impacts the Wi-Fi microcontroller that acts as a network gateway for the thermostat’s logic microcontroller. The Bosch smart thermostat products BCC101, BCC102 and BCC50, from version

Cyber threat intelligence giant Mandiant has shared the results of its investigation on its recent X account hijacking following a wave of crypto-related X account hacks. On January 3, 2024, the X (formerly Twitter) account of Mandiant, a subsidiary of Google Cloud, was taken over and began sending its 123,5000 followers links to a cryptocurrency

The global cyber insurance market is projected to be worth $90.6bn by 2033, at a growth rate of 22.3% CAGR from 2023, according to an analysis by Market.Us. The industry is expected to reach $14.8bn by the end of 2024, a significant rise from a projected valuation of $12.1bn in 2023. The report highlighted the

A new decryptor key has been created for victims of the Babuk Tortilla ransomware variant, Cisco Talos has confirmed. These keys will be added to a generic Babuk decryptor previously created by Avast Threat Labs. This will enable users to download the single decryptor containing all currently known Babuk keys. Targeting Babuk Ransomware Variations Babuk

North Korean hackers stole at least $600m in cryptocurrency in 2023, around a third of the total value of such heists, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM. Despite the eye-watering sum, this figure represents a 30% reduction on cryptocurrency stolen by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)-linked hackers compared to 2022, at $850m. The researchers

Cyber-attacks targeting Web3 cost organizations $1.84bn in 2023 across 751 incidents, according to Certik’s Hack3d: The Web3 Security Report 2023. The average cost per incident was $2.45m in 2023. However, there was a wide disparity between the losses suffered, with the 10 most costly attacks alone accounting for $1.11bn. The highest costs occurred in Q3,

The US Justice Department (DoJ) announced that 19 individuals involved in managing and using the late xDedic cybercrime marketplace have been charged with lengthy prison sentences. The list includes two xDedic administrators, Pavlo Kharmanskyi, a Ukrainian man who was arrested while trying to enter the US, and Alexandru Habasescu, of Moldovan nationality, who was arrested

DNA testing firm 23andMe has argued the victims are responsible for the breach of highly sensitive genomics data on its systems last year. In a written reply to Tycko & Zavareei LLP, a law firm representing victims of the breach in a class action lawsuit filed in the courts in November 2023, 23andMe accused users

Security experts have begun the year in combative mood after a leading security vendor called on the US government to ban ransomware payments. Noted for its work in ransomware decryption, Emsisoft revealed new analysis this week claiming that 2207 US hospitals, schools and government entities were directly impacted by ransomware in 2023. It argued that

Russian intelligence hacked online surveillance cameras to spy on air defense activities and critical infrastructure in Kyiv ahead of recent missile strikes, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has revealed. The Kremlin was able to remotely control two residential cameras, which it used to collect information to target critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. This

Court cases and tribunals in Australia have been impacted by a cybersecurity incident, with attackers potentially accessing recordings of hearings, according to the Court Services Victoria (CSV). The CSV revealed the incident in a statement on January 2, 2024. This public notice came some 12 days after the CSV was first alerted to the cyber

Security vendor Ivanti has released an update to its Avalanche mobile device management (MDM) product which fixes 22 vulnerabilities, 13 of which are rated critical. Ivanti Avalanche is described by the vendor as an enterprise MDM solution capable of managing distributed deployments of more than 100,000 mobile devices – including anything from warehouse scanners to

Security researchers have warned against the DarkGate threat actor, who has recently gained notoriety in the realm of remote access Trojans (RATs) and loaders.  Earlier today, Proofpoint confirmed it has been tracking a distinct operator of the DarkGate malware, temporarily named BattleRoyal, noting its use in at least 20 email campaigns from September to November

After a quieter month in October, ransomware groups seemed to return with a vengeance in November, with the highest number of listed victims ever recorded, according to Corvus Insurance. In a report published on December 18, 2023, Corvus Threat Intel observed 484 new ransomware victims posted to leak sites in November. This represents a 39.08%

The threat landscape has been bustling in the second half of 2023, according to cybersecurity provider ESET. In its Threat Report: H2 2023, the firm recorded many significant cybersecurity incidents between June and November 2023, a period dominated by AI-related malicious activity and the emergence of new Android spyware. According to the report, a new

Cybercriminals unleashed an average of 411,000 malicious files every day in 2023, representing a 3% increase from the previous year, according to Kaspersky. The firm’s Security Bulletin: Statistics of the Year Report, published on December 14, 2023, showed that particular types of threats also escalated. One example is the use of malicious desktop files (Microsoft

ESO Solutions, a data and software provider for emergency responders and healthcare entities, has commenced the notification process for 2.7 million individuals affected by a ransomware attack.  The breach, which unfolded on September 28, compelled ESO to shut down systems temporarily to curb the incident’s reach. Although the attackers accessed and encrypted internal systems, ESO said it