Insights

Russian Hacker “Wazawaka” Indicted for Ransomware

A Russian man identified by KrebsOnSecurity in January 2022 as a prolific and vocal member of several top ransomware groups was the subject of two indictments unsealed by the Justice Department today. U.S. prosecutors say Mikhail Pavolovich Matveev, a.k.a. “Wazawaka” and “Boriselcin” worked with three different ransomware gangs that extorted hundreds of millions of dollars from companies, schools, hospitals and government agencies. An FBI wanted poster for Matveev. Indictments returned in New Jersey and the…

Read More

Re-Victimization from Police-Auctioned Cell Phones

Countless smartphones seized in arrests and searches by police forces across the United States are being auctioned online without first having the data on them erased, a practice that can lead to crime victims being re-victimized, a new study found. In response, the largest online marketplace for items seized in U.S. law enforcement investigations says it now ensures that all phones sold through its platform will be data-wiped prior to auction. Researchers at the University…

Read More

CISA and Partners Release BianLian Ransomware Cybersecurity Advisory

CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) with known BianLian ransomware and data extortion group technical details. Microsoft and Sophos contributed to the advisory. To reduce the likelihood and impact of BianLian and other ransomware incidents, CISA encourages organizations to implement mitigations recommended in this advisory. Mitigations align with the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) developed by CISA and the National Institute of…

Read More

CISA and FBI Release Joint Advisory in Response to Active Exploitation of PaperCut Vulnerability

CISA and FBI have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), Malicious Actors Exploit CVE-2023-27350 in PaperCut MF and NG. This joint advisory provides details related to an exploitation of PaperCut MF/NG vulnerability (CVE-2023-27350). FBI observed malicious actors exploit CVE-2023-27350 beginning in mid-April 2023 and continuing through the present. In early May 2023, FBI observed a group self-identifying as the Bl00dy Ransomware Gang attempting to exploit vulnerable PaperCut servers against the Education Facilities Subsector. The advisory further…

Read More

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2023 Edition

Microsoft today released software updates to fix at least four dozen security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software, including patches for two zero-day vulnerabilities that are already being exploited in active attacks. First up in May’s zero-day flaws is CVE-2023-29336, which is an “elevation of privilege” weakness in Windows which has a low attack complexity, requires low privileges, and no user interaction. However, as the SANS Internet Storm Center points out, the…

Read More

Feds Take Down 13 More DDoS-for-Hire Services

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) this week seized 13 domain names connected to “booter” services that let paying customers launch crippling distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Ten of the domains are reincarnations of DDoS-for-hire services the FBI seized in December 2022, when it charged six U.S. men with computer crimes for allegedly operating booters. Booter services are advertised through a variety of methods, including Dark Web forums, chat platforms and even youtube.com. They accept…

Read More

Microsoft Releases May 2023 Security Updates

Microsoft has released updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. An attacker can exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review Microsoft’s May 2023 Security Update Guide and Deployment Information and apply the necessary updates.

Read More

CISA and Partners Disclose Snake Malware Threat From Russian Cyber Actors

Today, CISA and partners released a joint advisory for a sophisticated cyber espionage tool used by Russian cyber actors. Hunting Russian Intelligence “Snake” Malware provides technical descriptions of the malware’s host architecture and network communications, and mitigations to help detect and defend against this threat. CISA urges organizations to review the advisory for more information and apply the recommended mitigations and detection guidance. For more information on FSB and Russian state-sponsored cyber activity, please see…

Read More

Mozilla Releases Security Advisories for Multiple Products

Mozilla has released security advisories to address vulnerabilities in Firefox and Firefox ESR. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.  CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply the necessary updates: Security Vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox 113 Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2023-16 Security Vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox ESR 102.11 Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2023-17 For updates addressing lower severity vulnerabilities, see the…

Read More

$10M Is Yours If You Can Get This Guy to Leave Russia

The U.S. government this week put a $10 million bounty on a Russian man who for the past 18 years operated Try2Check, one of the cybercrime underground’s most trusted services for checking the validity of stolen credit card data. U.S. authorities say 43-year-old Denis Kulkov‘s card-checking service made him at least $18 million, which he used to buy a Ferrari, Land Rover, and other luxury items. Denis Kulkov, a.k.a. “Nordex,” in his Ferrari. Image: USDOJ.…

Read More