FBI Director Christopher Wray, appearing before a Senate committee last month, confirmed that the bureau and law enforcement partners had obtained a universal decryption key for REvil.

REvil Revelations: Law Enforcement Behind Disruptions

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 22, 2021

The outages of the notorious REvil - aka Sodinokibi - ransomware operation have been due to a coordinated law enforcement effort involving the U.S. and foreign partners, aimed at disrupting the group's attack capabilities, Reuters reports.

3rd Party Risk Management

BlackByte: Free Decryptor Released for Ransomware Strain

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Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

New Bill Would Secure Government Contractors' Use of AI

Dan Gunderman • October 22, 2021

Two Senate leaders on Thursday introduced legislation that would form a working group charged with monitoring the security of AI data obtained by federal contractors. This body would also ensure that the data adequately protects national security and recognizes privacy rights, the lawmakers say.

Cybercrime

FIN7 Sets Up Fake Pentesting Company Site to Recruit Talent

Mihir Bagwe • October 22, 2021

Threat group FIN7 has set up a website posing as a security company to recruit talent, according to fraud intelligence company Gemini Advisory. The aim of the scam was to lure security researchers who could help the group with penetration testing-related activities to enable ransomware attacks.

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

Malicious Packages Disguised as JavaScript Libraries Found

Prajeet Nair • October 22, 2021

Researchers at open-source software firm Sonatype have uncovered multiple malicious packages that disguise themselves as legitimate JavaScript libraries on npm registries to launch cryptominers on Windows, macOS and Linux machines.

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

Forrester Report: Key Questions to Ask XDR Vendors

Anna Delaney • October 22, 2021

The current state of the XDR market is a "chaotic jumble of different features," according to Forrester analyst Allie Mellon, who has authored a new study to identify the top XDR providers in the industry: The Forrester New Wave: Extended Detection And Response (XDR) Providers, Q4 2021.

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

ISMG Editors’ Panel: Regulators Get Tough on Crypto Firms?

Anna Delaney • October 22, 2021

In the latest weekly update, four ISMG editors discuss: a federal judge imposing the maximum sentences on a hacker who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, regulators getting tougher on cryptocurrency lending platforms and the return to in-person roundtables.

Critical Infrastructure Security

Pandemic Plus Ransomware Is 'Perfect Storm' for Healthcare

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • October 22, 2021

Disturbing findings from a recent study examining the impact of ransomware attacks on patient care must serve as a wake-up call for the healthcare sector to intensify its preparedness to deal with such incidents, say Larry Ponemon of research firm Ponemon Institute and Ed Gaudet of risk management firm Censinet. The...

3rd Party Risk Management

Ransomware Warning: Are Businesses Stepping Up?

Anna Delaney • October 22, 2021

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report features an analysis of whether businesses are stepping up their ransomware defenses in response to several warnings released by the U.S. and U.K. governments highlighting the threat posed to infrastructure. Also featured are the Thingiverse data breach and airline fraud...

3rd Party Risk Management

House Passes Bills on Both Supply Chain, Telecom Security

Dan Gunderman • October 21, 2021

In a busy congressional day for cybersecurity legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives passed several bills on Wednesday, targeting both software supply chain and telecommunication system security. One observer describes them as "a win-win for the government and U.S. citizens."

Breach Notification

Lyceum Group Targets Two Tunisia-Based Entities

Prajeet Nair • October 21, 2021

Researchers at Kaspersky report that Lyceum group, known for targeting organizations in the energy and telecommunications sectors across the Middle East, has attacked two entities in Tunisia with an updated malware arsenal.

3rd Party Risk Management

Dental Alliance Reports Vendor Breach Affecting 170,000

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • October 21, 2021

The Professional Dental Alliance is notifying more than 170,000 individuals in about a dozen states of a phishing breach involving an affiliated vendor that provides nonclinical management services to dental practices owned by PDA. Why is breach notification so complicated?

Cybercrime

4 Bulletproof Hosting Provider Admins Getting Sentenced

Mathew J. Schwartz • October 21, 2021

Four extradited Eastern European men have pleaded guilty in U.S. court to one count of conspiring to serve as administrators of a bulletproof hosting service that facilitated online attacks using the Zeus, SpyEye and Citadel Trojans and the Blackhole exploit kit, says the U.S. Department of Justice.

Cybercrime

Hacker Claims Details of 45 Million Argentinians Stolen

Mihir Bagwe • October 21, 2021

A cybercriminal known as cfk on popular hacking forums and @AnibalLeaks on Twitter claims to have stolen a database consisting of 45 million records of Argentina's National Registry of Persons, or ReNaPer. The government denies that there has been unauthorized entry into its systems.