#ransomware

#ransomware

In a post on its dark web leak site, seen by The Register, Everest said: "Files contain this information and much more: Binary segmentation modules, Source code & patches, RAM dumps & memory logs, AI models & weights, OEM internal tools & firmware, Test videos, Calibration & dual-camera data, Image datasets, Crash logs & debug reports, Evaluation & performance reports, HDR, fusion, post processing data, Test APKs, experimental apps, Scripts & automation, Small config binary calibration files."

Encryption rates in ransomware attacks on manufacturing companies have fallen sharply. Only 40 percent of attacks resulted in actual encryption, the lowest level in five years and a significant drop from 74 percent last year. However, attackers are compensating for this with a different tactic: extortion without encryption rose from 3 percent in 2024 to 10 percent in 2025. They are increasingly relying on stolen data as a means of pressure.

Ransomware was deployed simultaneously, encrypting data on multiple active servers and some PC devices connected to the network,

Among the benefits, tabletop exercises simulate a real-life attack so firms can put incident response plans to the test, including decision-making processes, communications and technical measures. When done well, tabletop exercises can expose blind spots and help response teams "build the muscle memory needed to act fast when the real thing hits", says Adam Harrison, managing director in the cyber security practice at FTI Consulting. So what types of tabletop exercises are available and how can you use them in your business?

Cybercrime fighters in the US, UK, and Australia have imposed sanctions on several Russia-linked entities they claim provide hosting services to ransomware gangs Lockbit, BlackSuit, and Play. The sanctions target an organization called "Media Land," an entity that the US Department of Treasury describes as a provider of hosting services to "criminal marketplaces and ransomware actors" and which allowed its infrastructure to be used for "multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against U.S. victim companies and critical infrastructure."

Ransomware doesn't knock on the front door. It sneaks in quietly, and by the time you notice, the damage is already done. Backups, replication, and cloud storage help recover from ransomware, but when it strikes, these products may not be enough. You copy your data and ensure copies are recoverable when needed. Replication is often viewed as the gold standard of protection. It is fast, efficient, and seems like an easy answer. Two common types of replication are in use today.

In a statement published this week, Synnovis said the investigation "took more than a year to complete because the compromised data was unstructured, incomplete and fragmented, and often very difficult to understand." It added that specialist incident response teams had to use "highly specialized platforms and bespoke processes" to work through terabytes of jumbled information and identify which healthcare providers' patients were affected.

Last month, Google said that the ransomware gang Clop was targeting companies after exploiting multiple vulnerabilities in Oracle's E-Business Suite software, which companies use for their business operations, storing their human resources files, and other sensitive data. The exploits allowed the hackers to steal their customer's business data and employee records from more than 100 companies, per Google.

Martin had apparently seen how this system worked in practice through his job, and he approached a pair of other people to help him make some easy cash. One of these people was allegedly Ryan Goldberg of Watkinsville, Georgia, who worked as an incident manager at the cybersecurity firm Sygnia. Goldberg told the FBI that Martin had recruited him to "try and ransom some companies."

Imagine this: Sarah from accounting gets what looks like a routine password reset email from your organization's cloud provider. She clicks the link, types in her credentials, and goes back to her spreadsheet. But unknown to her, she's just made a big mistake. Sarah just accidentally handed over her login details to cybercriminals who are laughing all the way to their dark web marketplace, where they'll sell her credentials for about $15. Not much as a one-off, but a serious money-making operation when scaled up.

"Sanctions will not deter all malicious cyber activity," he said. "What they can do is complicate operations, raise costs, disrupt enabling infrastructure and signal collective resolve." Saiz explained that sanctions can deter adversaries by imposing friction, restricting access to various resources - both financial and technical - and making threat actor networks publicly toxic, such as the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) did to LockBit with some success. However, he warned, cyber sanctions do not deter every threat actor and their practical impact varies wildly.

In the past year, the rapid democratization of AI has opened the door for a new class of haunting threats. Malware creation, once a domain requiring deep expertise and significant time, can now be automated in mere seconds. It's no longer about who has the most sophisticated tools, but who can leverage AI the fastest - and the current advantage favors the bad actors. It's like a haunted house gone wrong, and the monsters are in control.

Typically, when ransomware gets into a Windows machine, it first scans the cached memory, registry keys, file paths, and running processes to see whether the system is already infected, running on a malware analyst's computer, or trying to run in the sandboxed environment of a virtualized machine. If it sees any of these signs, it gives up, but if not, the ransomware sends a message back to the cybercriminals' servers

In what officials described as a call to arms, national security officials and ministers are urging all organisations, from the smallest businesses to the largest employers, to draw up contingency plans for the eventuality that your IT infrastructure [is] crippled tomorrow and all your screens [go] blank. The NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, said highly sophisticated China, capable and irresponsible Russia, Iran and North Korea were the main state threats, in its annual review published on Tuesday.

Dozens of Orgs Impacted by Exploitation of Oracle EBS Flaw - Dozens of organizations may have been impacted following the zero-day exploitation of a security flaw in Oracle's E-Business Suite (EBS) software since August 9, 2025, according to Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) and Mandiant. The activity, which bears some hallmarks associated with the Cl0p ransomware crew, is assessed to have fashioned together multiple distinct vulnerabilities, including a zero-day flaw tracked as CVE-2025-61882 (CVSS score: 9.8), to breach target networks and exfiltrate sensitive data.