Tag: ransomware

US offers $10 million bounty for DarkSide hackers

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States announced a $10 million reward Thursday for help finding leaders of the high-profile ransomware gang DarkSide, authorities’ latest try at combating spiking cyber-extortion attacks. Washington blamed the Russia-based group for the online assault that forced the shutdown of the largest oil pipeline in the eastern United States in May. Cyber-extortion heists involve breaking into a company or institution’s network to encrypt its data, then demanding a ransom, […]

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Cyberattack hits hundreds of US businesses

  SAN FRANCICO, United States (AFP) — A US IT company urged customers to shut down their servers Friday after cyberattackers smuggled ransomware onto its network platform. Kaseya said Friday evening that it had limited the attack to “a very small percentage of our customers” who use its signature VSA software, “currently estimated at fewer than 40 worldwide.” Cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs had earlier said in a Reddit forum that it was working with partners […]

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Ireland shuts down health IT system after ransomware attack

  by Joe STENSON Agence France Presse DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Ireland’s health authority said Friday it had shut down its computer systems after experiencing a “significant ransomware attack”, a week after the largest US fuel pipeline network was also targeted. The Irish attack was blamed on international criminals and was said to be targeting healthcare records, but officials said patient safety was not at risk. “We have taken the precaution of shutting down all […]

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New malware attack hits parts of Europe

by Dmitry Zaks Agence France Presse KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — A cyber attack hit a Ukrainian international airport and three Russian media outlets Tuesday before also being detected by IT experts in Germany and at least two other European states. The malware called “BadRabbit” appeared to be the largest since “NotPetya” was launched from the same two countries before affecting the rest of the world in July. US and Russian cybersecurity experts said the computer […]

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Apple unveils iCloud data center in China as cyber laws tightened

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Apple has unveiled plans to build a data center in China to store its local iCloud customers’ personal details, marking the first such move by a foreign technology firm following the imposition of strict new cyber-security laws in the country. The United States titan said it was partnering with an internet service provider in southwestern Guizhou province on the project, which will “improve the speed and reliability of our products and […]

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Jury out on North Korea link to ransomware attack

By Rob Lever Agence France-Presse Was North Korea behind the ransomware epidemic that hit global computer networks earlier this month? That’s the subject of heated debate in cybersecurity circles after analysts found similarities in the “WannaCry” worm to other malware attributed to North Korea, including the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and a cyberheist of millions of dollars from the Bangladesh central bank. The security firm Symantec this week said the shared code makes it […]

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North Korea-linked hackers ‘highly likely’ behind WannaCry: Symantec

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — The Lazarus hacking group, widely believed to be connected to North Korea, is “highly likely” responsible for the WannaCry global cyberattack that hit earlier this month, US anti-virus firm Symantec said. North Korea has angrily dismissed earlier reports linking its isolated regime to the worm that crippled hundreds of thousands of computers, demanding payment in Bitcoin to return control to users. But Symantec said the ransomware had many of […]

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Microsoft withheld update that could have slowed WannaCry: report

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — American software giant Microsoft held back from distributing a free security update that could have protected computers from the WannaCry global cyber attack, the Financial Times reported Thursday. In mid-march, Microsoft distributed a security update after it detected the security flaw in its XP operating system that enabled the so-called WannaCry ransomware to infiltrate and freeze computers last week. But the software giant only sent the free security update — […]

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Mobile internet next target of cyber attack: insiders

  The cyber attack seems to be no longer far from ordinary people’s lives, as global authorities are busy handling the latest wave of ransomware attack. Insiders warned that the mobile network will be the next target of hackers. The ransomware, called WannaCry, which exploited the vulnerabilities in older Microsoft computer operating systems, encrypted data on the computers, demanding certain amount of payments to restore access. It is reported that the WannaCry cyber attack has […]

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Who’s to blame for ransomware outbreak?

by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Questions are swirling over who is responsible for the security flaws exploited by hackers in the world’s biggest ransomware attack to date, which crippled thousands of businesses and public organizations around the world. Here are some answers: Who bears the blame? Because hackers exploited a security hole in some Windows versions discovered by the National Security Agency, Microsoft says the intelligence agency bears some […]

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World braces for more cyberattacks as work week begins

by Robin Millard Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Governments and computer experts girded Monday for a possible worsening of the global cyberattack that has hit more than 150 countries, as Microsoft warned against stockpiling vulnerabilities like the one at the heart of the crisis. European policing and security agencies said the fallout from a ransomware attack that has already crippled more than 200,000 computers around the world could deepen as people return for another […]

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