Topic: ransom payments
-
Ransomware Gangs Extorted $2.1B in Two Years: FinCEN
Ransomware extortion surged, with criminals collecting over $2.1 billion from 2022-2024, nearly matching the total from the previous eight years. While 2023 was a peak year, ransom payments dropped sharply in 2024, largely due to successful law enforcement actions against major gangs like ALPHV/B...
Read More » -
Education Sector Fortifies Ransomware Defenses, But IT Teams Pay a Heavy Price
Educational institutions are improving ransomware defenses, with 97% successfully recovering encrypted data and average ransom payments dropping significantly. Despite progress, vulnerabilities persist due to inadequate staffing and evolving threats like AI-enhanced phishing, while IT staff face ...
Read More » -
Ransomware's New Target: Manufacturing
Ransomware tactics in manufacturing are evolving from data encryption to data theft and extortion, directly exploiting the high cost of production downtime and the value of proprietary designs. Attackers primarily breach systems through exploited vulnerabilities and malicious emails, while intern...
Read More » -
UK & US Charge Alleged Scattered Spider Hackers
Two key members of the Scattered Spider cybercrime group, Thalha Jubair and Owen Flowers, have been arrested and charged in the U.S. and U.K. for their roles in numerous damaging cyber intrusions, including attacks on critical infrastructure and corporate networks. The suspects are accused of usi...
Read More » -
UK arrests teens behind 'Scattered Spider' Transport for London hack
Two British teenagers, Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair, have been arrested for a major cyberattack on Transport for London in August 2024, with both linked to the Scattered Spider hacking group. The attack caused significant disruption and financial losses to TfL, compromising personal data and in...
Read More » -
US Cybersecurity Experts Charged in BlackCat Ransomware Case
Three cybersecurity professionals, including Kevin Tyler Martin and Ryan Clifford Goldberg, have been federally indicted for orchestrating BlackCat ransomware attacks, using their industry expertise to breach networks and extort cryptocurrency payments. The accused, who previously worked as ranso...
Read More » -
Google's AI Ransomware Defense Has Critical Limits
Google has introduced an AI-powered defense for its Drive desktop application that detects ransomware behavior in real-time and stops cloud synchronization to prevent widespread infection. This feature acts as a supplementary security layer, using an AI model trained on millions of ransomware-enc...
Read More » -
UK Cyber-Insurance Payouts Surge 230%
The UK's cyber insurance market experienced a 230% increase in payouts to £197 million last year, alongside a 17% rise in active policies as more businesses seek protection. Malicious software and ransomware attacks drove over half of all claims, rising from 32% to 51%, due to increasingly advanc...
Read More »