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US charges Russian government hackers for NotPetya cyberattack
The United States has officially filed criminal charges against six Russian intelligent officers for releasing the NotPetya ransomware virus as well as disrupting Ukraine’s power grid.
US extends sanctions against Russians over cyberattacks
The US Department of the Treasury has issued another round of sanctions against a handful of Russian groups and individuals. These latest sanctions have been placed against companies that are controlled by and/or have provided support to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) as well as some entities that are owned by or have acted on behalf of those that have allegedly supported the FSB. In all, the Treasury Department issued sanctions against five groups and three individuals.
Ukraine claims it’s the target of a massive Russian cyberattack
Cisco says hackers have infected more than 500,000 routers and other devices with malware to prepare for a cyberattack, and Ukraine could be the target. The country's SBU security service claims the malware is evidence Russia is preparing for a major attack "aimed at destabilising the situation" during the Champions League soccer final in Kiev Saturday, Reuters reported. Ukraine's annual Constitution Day celebrations may also be a target, according to the AP.
US sanctions Russians for cyberattacks and election meddling
The US Department of the Treasury has instituted sanctions against five Russian entities and 19 individuals for their involvement in a number of cyberattacks and online efforts to interfere with the US presidential election. The sanctions prohibit US companies and individuals from conducting business with those named by the Treasury Department. "The Administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement. "These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia. Treasury intends to impose additional CAATSA sanctions, informed by our intelligence community, to hold Russian government officials and oligarchs accountable for their destabilizing activities by severing their access to the US financial system."
Cyber attacks reportedly cost the US as much as $109 billion in 2016
Cyber attacks are increasingly becoming a fact of life. North Korea attacked aerospace and telecom networks last year. Olympics officials confirmed a recent attack that took place during the opening ceremonies. While Russia denied its involvement in the devastating NotPetya attacks, the US has finally joined other countries in blaming Russia for them. Now, a report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers says that malicious cyber activity like this cost the US economy between $57 and $109 billion in 2016.
White House also blames Russia for NotPetya attacks
The White House has officially joined the UK government in blaming Russia for last year's NotPetya attacks. Shortly after the UK publicly accused Kremlin of unleashing the wiper worm on various organizations around the globe, particularly in Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued the administration's formal statement. She called the NotPetya attacks reckless and indiscriminate and warned that they will be met with "international consequences."
Russia denies UK claim it was behind NotPetya cyberattack
The UK government says that Russia is to blame for the destructive NotPetya cyberattack that scrambled major infrastructure around the world in June 2017, costing firms millions. Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad said that while the attack masqueraded as a criminal enterprise, its purpose was "principally to disrupt" Russia's primary target, Ukraine, and that Russian military was "almost certainly" behind the attack.
New ransomware is causing major issues across Europe and Russia
There's a new ransomware making the rounds today with confirmed targets in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Germany. Kaspersky Labs says that nearly 200 victims have been hit with the ransomware that's been dubbed Bad Rabbit.
FedEx estimates ransomware attack cost $300 million
FedEx acquired Dutch shipper TNT Express last year for $4.8 billion, well before the NotPetya ransomware ran wild on TNT's systems June 27th, disrupting much of its shipping operation. Like the earlier WannaCry outbreak, NotPetya used a Windows exploit stripped from an NSA leak to spread across networks. According to FedEx, even though its services and critical systems have been restored, "TNT Express volume, revenue and profit still remain below previous levels." That adds up to a $300 million hit on its operating results, and the company raised the estimate of integrating TNT's systems with its own by $75 million over previous estimates.
India wants a discount on Windows to reduce its cyberattack risk
In light of the recent WannaCry and "NotPetya" global ransomware attacks, India is looking to strike a deal with Microsoft that would reduce the cost of its Windows 10 operating system by more than 75 percent. The country's cyber security coordinator, Gulshan Rai, told Reuters that the company has "in principle agreed."
Recent 'NotPetya' attacks might not be ransomware at all
The companies and agencies hit by a cyberattack in the Ukraine, Russia, the US, parts of Europe, Asia and Australia might never be able to recover their data. See, some security researchers, including Kaspersky Lab, believe that the malware that invaded those computers was only masquerading as ransomware in order to lure the media into covering it as a follow-up to the WannaCry incidents. While its developers painstakingly tried to make it look like ransomware, the researchers say it's actually what you call a "wiper," since it overwrites parts that a disk needs to run. It doesn't encrypt those parts, so you can regain access to them after you pay -- it just completely erases them.
