Tag Archives: Ransomware

Major University In California Pays Large Ransom After Ransomware Attack

The University of San Francisco (UCSF) is the latest organization to fall victim to hackers, running afoul of a group utilizing the Netwalker ransomware strain. UCSF is a research university whose recent efforts have been focused on health sciences generally and COVID-19-related research specifically. On June 3rd, 2020, Netwalker published a notice on a site […]

Thanos Ransomware May Get Around Certain Security Systems

In 2019, a new strain of ransomware called Thanos burst onto the scene and has since been spreading quietly and seeing increased adoption by hackers around the world. The code has been traced to a Russian hacker going by the name Nosophorus, who has been offering the software as ‘Ransomeware-as-a-service’ on Russian-speaking forums on the […]

PonyFinal Is Another New Ransomware To Watch Out For

Microsoft recently issued a security advisory about a new strain of ransomware that’s been cropping up with increasing frequency in India, Iran and the US. Called PonyFinal, one of the things that differentiates this strain from the pack is that it’s deployed in what the company describes as human-operated ransomware attacks. Most of the ransomware […]

Monetary Demands Are Skyrocketing For Ransomware Decryptions

Ransomware attacks have evolved quite a lot over the course of the past year, and have become one of the most visible threats organizations of all sizes face. That is, based on recently published research conducted by Group-IB, which analyzed the rapidly changing threat landscape. Their findings should disturb every business owner. Here’s a quick […]

Hackers Are Demanding Extra Ransomware Payments From Victims

Hackers who use ransomware to conduct their attacks have a new trick up their sleeves. A ransomware family has begun employing the tactic of not only demanding payment to unlock infected systems, but also demanding an additional payment. They’re demanding an extra payment to keep them from publishing copies of the files they stole before […]

Ransomware Targets Company Working On A COVID-19 Vaccine

It’s common knowledge that hackers are highly opportunistic and certainly not above targeting children, the sick and the dying if there’s money to be made. Even so, attacking a drug company currently doing research to find a vaccine for COVID-19 has to be counted as a new low, even for hackers. Sadly, that exact scenario […]

Coronavirus Health Notifications Being Used To Carry Malicious Threats

A Pakistani-based hacking group that goes by a variety of names, including “Transparent Tribe,” “APT36,” “Mythic Leopard” and others has been discovered to be behind a particularly nasty attack recently. Researchers with QiAnXin’s RedDrip Team discovered a phishing campaign bearing the group’s stamp. This new campaign utilizes poisoned files that appear to be health advisories […]

Another Week Another New Ransomware To Be Concerned About

There’s a new strain of ransomware to put on your radar. This latest one was discovered by researchers working from SentinelLabs and it has been dubbed Nefilim. Based on the initial research, it seems to share significant portions of its code base with an older strain, Nemty 2.5. The two key differences between the two […]

Emails Pretending To Be Secret Admirers Could Be Ransomware

Nemty Ransomware isn’t an especially well-known threat, but it’s dangerous and should not be discounted. Recently, researchers have discovered an ongoing spam-email driven campaign that’s attempting to spread the ransomware far and wide. An unknown group of hackers are sending out what appear to be love letters from secret admirers in a broad pattern. They […]