Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Trend analysis of ransomware attacks in the first quarter of this year reveals a continual increase in the number of "unknown" initial attack vectors, and I think I might understand why. There are two reports that you should be keeping an eye on—the updated Verizon Data Breach Report and ransomware response vendor Coveware’s Quarterly Ransomware Reports. In their latest report covering Q1 of this year, we see a continuing upward trend in “unknown” as the top initial attack vector.

Just when you think bad actors cannot sink any lower, they find a way to. In a recent chilling evolution of ransomware tactics, attackers are now also targeting the families of corporate executives to force compliance and payment. Mandiant's Chief Technology Officer, Charles Carmakal, highlighted this disturbing trend at RSA last week: criminals engaging in SIM swapping attacks against executives' children.

On May10th, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) issued an urgent advisory about malicious threat activity involving the Black Basta ransomware variant. Detailed information about these threats and the associated IOCs and TTPs can be seen on #StopRansomware: Black Basta.

One of the largest phishing-as-a-service platforms, LabHost, was severely disrupted by law enforcement in 19 countries during a year-long operation that resulted in 37 arrests. According to a recent Europol announcement, the folks behind the LabHost Phishing as a Service (PhaaS) platform were arrested last month. In a coordinated search over three days, 37 suspects were apprehended, disrupting the well-known service.

Boeing recently confirmed that in October 2023, it fell victim to an attack by the LockBit ransomware gang, which disrupted some of its parts and distribution operations. The attackers demanded a whopping $200 million not to release the data they had exfiltrated. On Wednesday, Boeing admitted it was the company described as the "multinational aeronautical and defense corporation headquartered in Virginia" in a recently unsealed U.S. Department of Justice indictment.

Read also: a hacker-for-hire arrested in the UK, the BTC-e mastermind pleads guilty, and more.

The UK, US, and Australia have revealed the identity of Dmitry Khoroshev, a Russian national and the leader of the once-notorious LockBit ransomware group, following an international disruption campaign led by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The Rolling Stones wanted to protect their space; we, as security practitioners, need to protect ours. Data 'castles' in the cloud are out there, and they're constantly under siege. By drawing inspiration from a band that embodied personal freedom, we can draw some – okay, very stretched - parallels to modern cloud security. Nonetheless, they work. And we all knew this blog was coming. And if you read the blog backward you can hear the name of the latest malware family... Maybe.

New analysis of cyber attacks shows ransomware attacks are running far more rampant than previously thought, with half of organizations blaming poor cyber hygiene. After last year’s shocking stat that 70% of organizations pay the ransom, it’s really surprising to see that an even greater percentage (91%) have paid a ransom at least once in the last 12 months – this according to Extrahop’s 2024 Global Cyber Confidence Index.