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Join the Cybersecurity and Incident Response Group on LinkedInBitcoin Is Actually Traceable, Pipeline Investigation Shows – The New York Times
Criminals, often operating in hidden reaches of the internet, flocked to Bitcoin to do illicit business without revealing their names or locations. The digital currency quickly became as popular with drug dealers and tax evaders as it was with contrarian libertarians. But this week’s revelation that federal officials had recovered most of the Bitcoin ransom […]
JBS Paid $11 Million to Resolve Ransomware Attack – WSJ
JBS USA Holdings Inc. paid an $11 million ransom to cybercriminals who last week temporarily knocked out plants that process roughly one-fifth of the nation’s meat supply, the company’s chief executive said. The ransom payment, in bitcoin, was made to shield JBS meat plants from further disruption and to limit the potential impact on restaurants, […]
FBI Director Compares Ransomware Challenge to 9/11 – WSJ
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency is investigating about 100 different types of ransomware, many of which trace back to actors in Russia, and compared the current spate of cyberattacks with the challenge posed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “There are a lot of parallels, there’s a lot of importance, and a […]
Ransomware attack hits ferry to Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard
The Steamship Authority of Massachusetts ferry service fell victim to a ransomware attack Wednesday, the latest cyber assault affecting logistics and services in the United States. The Steamship Authority is the largest ferry service offering daily fares from Cape Cod to neighboring islands Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, according to the […]
Biden to Require Pipeline Companies to Report Cyberattacks – The New York Times
The Biden administration will require the nation’s pipeline companies to report to the government any time they are hit with a significant cyberattack, and to create 24-hour emergency centers for such episodes, Alejandros N. Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, said Thursday morning. The move is the first of several, administration officials said Wednesday night, […]
Colonial Pipeline hackers Darkside received $90 million in bitcoin: Report
On Friday, London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said it had identified the bitcoin wallet used by DarkSide to collect ransom payments from its victims. The same day, security researchers Intel 471 said DarkSide had closed down after losing access to its servers and as its cryptocurrency wallets were emptied. DarkSide also blamed “pressure from the […]
Linklaters launches US data solutions, cyber and privacy practice in New York – The Global Legal Post
UK Magic Circle firm Linklaters has launched a US data solutions, cyber and privacy practice in New York following the arrival of Prudential Financial’s former chief counsel for cybersecurity and privacy Erez Liebermann. Liebermann joins the firm as a partner along with ex-Prudential Financial colleague Andrew Pak, who joins as counsel. Liebermann also previously worked […]
Beyond Colonial Pipeline, Ransomware Cyberattacks Are a Growing Threat – WSJ
The cyberattack that knocked offline an essential U.S. gasoline pipeline shows how the dangerous, professional-scale hack-for-ransom threat is spreading rapidly, targeting companies, schools, hospitals and other institutions. While ransomware has been a challenge for small businesses for years, a confluence of factors have emboldened attackers in the past year, culminating in the shutdown Friday of […]
U.S. Pipeline Shutdown Exposes Cyber Threat to Energy Sector – WSJ
The ransomware attack that forced the closure of the largest U.S. fuel pipeline this weekend showed how cybercriminals pose a far-reaching threat to the aging, vulnerable infrastructure that keeps the nation’s energy moving. Colonial Pipeline Co. closed its entire 5,500-mile conduit carrying gasoline and other fuels from the Gulf Coast to the New York metro […]
Corporate boards are better at cybersecurity but still need improvement | Security Magazine
This year, Gartner – the world’s leading IT research company – came out with a prediction that upon inspection says a lot about how the highest level of corporate management views cybersecurity risk. It wasn’t that this has become the second-highest source of risk for the enterprise, and could become the riskiest of all. This […]
RTF Report: Combatting Ransomware
Ransomware is no longer just a financial crime; it is an urgent national security risk that threatens schools, hospitals, businesses, and governments across the globe. This is not a problem that any one entity can solve. Over 60 experts from industry, government, law enforcement, civil society, and international organizations worked together to produce this comprehensive […]
The Case For and Against Criminalizing Ransomware – Infosecurity Magazine
Earlier this year, the former CEO of the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ciaran Martin, spoke on the ransomware issue, arguing that it is being fuelled because there is no legal barrier to ransomware victims paying and then claiming back the expense on insurance. He argues that this means victims are incentivized to pay […]
Amid a Wave of Hacks, Biden Moves to Fill Key Cyber Posts – WSJ
Mr. Biden is expected to nominate Jen Easterly, a former senior counterterrorism and cybersecurity official at NSA with experience at the Obama White House, to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, according to the people familiar with the matter. CISA is an arm of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for election security and protecting […]
Incident response pros seek to prove due diligence after OFAC advisory
Being coerced into paying a large ransomware demand is bad enough. Having to pay a large civil penalty on top of that for transacting with a federally sanctioned cybercriminal group is even worse. Looking to avoid such fines, incident response (IR) experts are advocating for improvements to ransomware response protocols, including additional oversight and demonstrable […]
Cybersecurity Docket Announces ‘Incident Response 40’ for 2021
Announcing Cybersecurity Docket’s Incident Response 40 for 2021!