Tag Archive for: 11th

The Week in Ransomware – February 11th 2022

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Decryptor

We saw the Maze ransomware developers reemerge briefly this week as they shared the master decryption keys for the Egregor, Maze, and Sekhmet ransomware operations.

After the Maze ransomware operation began shutting down in October 2020, it was always hoped that they would publicly release decryption keys to allow remaining victims to recover their files.

Tuesday night, almost fourteen months later, the alleged ransomware developer released the decryption keys in a BleepingComputer forum post.

While the developer says they had always planned to publish the keys, it is generally believed that they did it now as a gesture of goodwill due to the recent arrests and server seizures.

Using these keys, cybersecurity firm Emsisoft created a decryptor allowing victims to recover their files for free.

The other big news is the sentencing of a Netwalker ransomware affiliate from Canada, who obtained more than $27.6 million by attacking companies worldwide. After pleading guilty, the affiliate was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.

This week’s other interesting ransomware news includes publishing LockBit 2.0 ransomware technical details by the FBI, a free decryptor for the TargetCompany ransomware, and Puma announcing a data breach due to the Kronos ransomware attack.

Contributors and those who provided new ransomware information and stories this week include: @Seifreed, @billtoulas, @malwareforme, @VK_Intel, @BleepinComputer, @FourOctets, @DanielGallagher, @serghei, @malwrhunterteam, @jorntvdw, @fwosar, @Ionut_Ilascu, @PolarToffee, @LawrenceAbrams, @demonslay335, @struppigel, @chainalysis, @emsisoft, @Avast, @LadislavZezula, @coveware, @ddd1ms, @BrettCallow, @pcrisk, @USCERT_gov, and @CISAgov.

February 5th 2022

BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware linked to BlackMatter, DarkSide gangs

The Black Cat ransomware gang, also known as ALPHV, has confirmed they are former members of the notorious BlackMatter/DarkSide ransomware operation.

FBI shares Lockbit ransomware technical details, defense tips

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released technical details and indicators of compromise associated with LockBit ransomware attacks in a new flash alert published this…

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Happy 11th Birthday, KrebsOnSecurity! — Krebs on Security

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Today marks the 11th anniversary of KrebsOnSecurity! Thank you, Dear Readers, for your continued encouragement and support!

With the ongoing disruption to life and livelihood wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 has been a fairly horrid year by most accounts. And it’s perhaps fitting that this was also a leap year, piling on an extra day to a solar rotation that most of us probably can’t wait to see in the rearview mirror.

But it was hardly a dull one for computer security news junkies. In almost every category — from epic breaches and ransomware to cybercrime justice and increasingly aggressive phishing and social engineering scams — 2020 was a year that truly went to eleven.

Almost 150 stories here this past year generated nearly 9,000 responses from readers (although about 6 percent of those were on just one story). Thank you all for your thoughtful engagement, wisdom, news tips and support.

I’d like to reprise a note from last year’s anniversary post concerning ads. A good chunk of the loyal readers here are understandably security- and privacy-conscious, and many block advertisements by default — including the ads displayed here.

KrebsOnSecurity does not run third-party ads and has no plans to change that; all of the creatives you see on this site are hosted in-house, are purely image-based, and are vetted first by Yours Truly. Love them or hate ’em, these ads help keep the content at KrebsOnSecurity free to any and all readers. If you’re currently blocking ads here, please consider making an exception for this site.

In case you missed them, some of the most popular feature/enterprise stories on the site this year (in no particular order) included:

The Joys of Owning an ‘OG’ Email Account
Confessions of an ID Theft Kingpin (Part II)
Why and Where You Should Plant Your Flag
Thinking of a Career in Cybersecurity? Read This
Turn on MFA Before Crooks Do it for You
Romanian Skimmer Gang in Mexico Outed by KrebsOnSecurity Stole $1.2 Billion
Who’s Behind the ‘Web Listings’ Mail Scam?
When in Doubt: Hang Up, Look Up, & Call Back
Riding the State Unemployment Fraud Wave
Would You Have Fallen for this Phone Scam?


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This Week In Techdirt History: October 11th – 17th

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Five Years Ago

This week in 2015, while one judge was calling everyone’s bluffs about encryption, James Comey was insisting that “dozens” of terrorists have eluded the FBI because of it and Chuck Grassley was telling the DOJ to get back to the fight, and some were noting how just because the administration had said it wouldn’t pursue backdoors didn’t mean the next one wouldn’t change course. Plus, we noted that the lack of fervor from the NSA on the issue simply suggested that they already had a way into people’s phones. Meanwhile, the appeals court handed a clear fair use win to Google over book scanning, while the battle over the Happy Birthday copyright was gearing up for its next phase.

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2010, we looked at the rapid rise of copyright shakedown operations in the US — in fact, there were so many that they were starting to fight with each other over trademarks on their very similar names and copy ceach others’ websites. Meanwhile, more countries were reacting to ACTA and Ron Wyden was seeking answers on whether it would impact US law (which independent analysis suggested it absolutely would) — but though all this was leading to some growing reluctance among US officials, we doubted that they would ever really decide not to sign the agreement.

Fifteen Years Ago

This week in 2005, the instant messaging wars were in full swing and Microsoft and Yahoo were finally managing to provide some basic interoperability. RealNetworks and Microsoft settled their antitrust fight, more and more people were speaking up about patent trolls, and we looked at how it was the recording industry’s obsession with DRM that helped make Apple so powerful, to the industry’s chagrin.

Techdirt.

This Week In Techdirt History: April 5th – 11th

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Five Years Ago

This week in 2015, we learned that the feds had been tracking international calls for much longer than we thought, via the DEA, for nearly a decade — in a program that would have continued were it not for Edward Snowden’s NSA revelations. The discovery led quickly to a lawsuit by the EFF and Human Rights Watch. And speaking of Snowden, this was the week John Oliver famously interviewed him in Russia for a segment about surveillance on his show. We saw some other examples of surveillance too, like the revelation that the Baltimore PD had gone Stingray crazy and was instructed by the FBI to withhold information from the courts, and that the DHS had decided in 2009 that border patrol can search and copy people’s devices on a whim.

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2010, the patent office hired an economist to add some actual evidence to patent policy, and we wondered if a lot of the problems with software patents could be solved if they hired a team of “obviousness developers” too. We looked at how the DMCA is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech while in the UK, the House of Commons promised to ram through the Digital Economy Bill — and delivered. The whole thing was like a bad joke, and one ISP vowed not to abide by its rules.

Fifteen Years Ago

This week in 2005, we were suggesting that the recording industry seize the opportunity to give people what they want and just sell nice, portable, standard MP3s — but of course, that didn’t mean we wanted politicians stupidly stepping in to mandate a single music format. We noted the cultural importance of sharing music, and the fact that the internet is about communication not content. Meanwhile, it was interesting to see the unexpected secondary trends birthed by mobile phones: like watchmakers freaking out and plumbers doing good business fishing phones out of toilets — not to mention fake trends largely manufactured by the media, like “toothing” for sex partners via Bluetooth.

Techdirt.