October 30, 2021

Chaos ransomware variant targets Minecraft players in Japan

On Thursday 28th of October 2021, cyber security researchers from FortiGuard Labs released a report revealing they had recently discovered variant of the Chaos ransomware that is being used to target Minecraft players in Japan. The FortiGuard Labs researchers have stated that this variant is unique due to the fact they not only encrypt certain files of a size smaller […]
October 27, 2021

Grief ransomware gang adds the National Rifle Association of America as a victim

On Wednesday 27th of October 2021, the Grief ransomware gang added The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) to their data leak as a victim of one of their attacks. The gang provide evidence of the attack by providing screenshots of Excel spreadsheets containing US tax information and investments amounts. They also have leaked a 2.7 MB archive titled ‘National […]
October 27, 2021

Avast releases free AtomSilo and LockFile ransomware decryptor based on weakness in AtomSilo ransomware

On Wednesday 27th of October 2021, Avast, a Czech cybersecurity software firm announced that they had released a free decryption tool for AtomSilo and LockFile ransomware victims based on a weakness in the AtomSilo ransomware that found by RE – CERT malware analyst Jiří Vinopal. The decryptor is valid for both kinds of ransomware strains as they are very similar […]
October 27, 2021

Avast releases free Babuk ransomware decryptor based on leaked source code

On Wednesday 27th of October 2021, Avast, a Czech cybersecurity software firm announced that they had released a free decryption tool for Babuk ransomware victims based on leaked source code and decryption keys. The decryptor is valid for victims who have had their files encrypted by the Babuk ransomware that used the following extensions: .babuk, .babyk, .doydo. The source code […]
October 26, 2021

FBI releases flash alert against Ranzy Locker ransomware

On Monday 25th of October 2021, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that Ranzy Locker ransomware operators have compromised at least 30 US companies this year from various industry sectors. In a TLP: WHITE flash alert, the FBI states that the victims of the Ranzy Locker ransomware attacks included “the construction subsector of the critical manufacturing sector, […]
October 22, 2021

All extortion gangs called on to attack US interests by Groove ransomware gang

On Friday 22nd of October 2021, the Groove ransomware gang released a Russian blog post in Russian which calls for all other ransomware operations to target US interests. This blog comes about after REvil was taken down because of an international law enforcement operation that included support from the FBI. “I urge not to attack Chinese companies, because where do […]
October 22, 2021

A data breach investigated by GPDP after ransomware attack on SIAE

On Thursday 21st of October 2021, the Italian data protection authority Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali (GPDP) announced they were investigating a data breach of Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori which is Italy’s copyright protection government agency. Currently the GPDP is stating that the investigation is looking at whether threat actors were able to steal the personal […]
October 21, 2021

Evil Corp launch new Macaw Locker ransomware to evade US sanctions

Recently, a new ransomware called Macaw Locker launched by Evil Corp, has entered the ransomware space. It is believed that Evil Corp have released this new ransomware to evade US sanctions that prevent victims from making ransom payments. This is not the first time that Evil Corp have released a new ransomware to evade the US sanctions that were placed […]
October 21, 2021

Carbanak hacking group enters ransomware space by creating a fake cybersecurity company

On Thursday 21st of October 2021, researchers at Gemini Advisory released a blog detailing evidence that FIN7 (aka ‘Carbanak’) hacking group has set up a fake cybersecurity company known as Bastion Security which was being used to hire pentesters and system administrators to conduct pre-encryption stages of ransomware attacks. Researchers discovered Bastion Security website was made up of stolen and […]