Over the past few months, ransomware targeting healthcare organizations has been on the rise. While ransomware is nothing new, targeting healthcare organizations, at the extreme, can impact an organization’s ability to engage in anything from routine office visits to life-or-death diagnoses, treatments, and patient care.

Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world today and list out ways to explore these trends. This week we’re looking at five steps every organization should take to prevent cyberattacks and keep their data secure. The recent ransomware attacks on MGM Resorts in Las Vegas and Marriott Hotels have shown that we must be better prepared to identify and prevent phishing attacks.

Many threat actors tend to gravitate towards using some type of remote access trojan (RAT) in their campaigns. RATs are a type of malware that is designed to allow the attacker to have control over an infected device. RATs are a popular choice for hackers to use due to their many capabilities from reconnaissance and data exfiltration to long-term persistence. Throughout the last couple of months, a new Android banking trojan has been making headlines.

Read also: Ukraine and Germany hunt for DoppelPaymer ransomware actors, a Nigerian scammer faces up to 20 years in prison, and more.

Researchers at NSFOCUS are tracking a phishing campaign by a new threat actor called “AtlasCross” that’s impersonating the Red Cross in order to deliver malware. “NSFOCUS Security Labs validated the high-level threat attributes of AtlasCross in terms of development technology and attack strategy through an in-depth analysis of its attack metrics,” the researchers write.

Originally published June 1, 2022 In mid-2022, Forescout Research – Vedere Labs developed R4IoT, a proof-of-concept that showed how IoT devices could become entry points for IT and further OT ransomware attacks. The original blog post, below, explains how we came to create R4IoT and why. Our 2023H1 Threat Review included ample evidence that cross-device attacks like R4IoT are now a reality.

Malicious code is an unwanted file or program that causes harm to a computer or compromises data stored on a computer. Generally, it (malicious data) enters a system when a user clicks on a vulnerable link or downloads an infected file. Once a system is infected, it can cause a computer to – slow down, become unresponsive to keyboard inputs, overheat, get bombarded with ads, and more.

In this version of the Hacker’s Playbook Threat Coverage round-up, we are highlighting newly added coverage for several recently discovered or analyzed ransomware and malware variants, including RagnarLocker ransomware, LokiLocker ransomware, and Humble ransomware, amongst others. SafeBreach customers can select and run these attacks and more from the SafeBreach Hacker’s Playbook™ to ensure coverage against these advanced threats.

Recent findings in a SpyCloud report shows companies are starting to recognize and shift their priorities to defend against ransomware attacks, but the use of infostealer malware still has a high success rate for cybercriminals. According to SpyCloud's analysis, 76% of infections that preceded these ransomware events involved Raccoon infostealer malware.

Ave Maria RAT (remote access trojan), also known as “Warzone RAT,” is a malware that gains unauthorized access or remote control over a victim’s or targeted computer system. This RAT operates stealthily and grants attackers access to various functionalities within the compromised system. Its malicious activity includes data theft, privilege escalation, remote desktop control, email credential collections, browser credential parsing and more.

The latest MGM Resorts ransomware attack demonstrates why cyber insurance is critical as part of a multi-layered security strategy. In our last blog, we discussed the recent Las Vegas cyber incidents and how no organization is completely safe. The original cyber incident at MGM Resorts occurred on September 10, 2023 — nearly two weeks ago now – and the company and its valued customers are still feeling its effects.

SmokeLoader is a well-known malware family that has been around for more than 10 years. Its main purpose is to download and drop other malware families. However, SmokeLoader's operators also sell plugins that add capabilities to the main module. Those plugins allow an affiliate to collect browser data from infected computers, as well as emails, cookies, passwords, and much more. In this blog post, we'll dissect SmokeLoader's plugins that were received by an infected computer from the botnet "0020".

Read also: NLBrute malware dev pleads guilty, Piilopuoti darkweb marketplace dismantled, and more.

On September 20th, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an advisory highlighting the various indicators of compromise (IOCs) and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) associated with the Snatch ransomware variant. This variant was identified as recently as June 1, 2023, by the FBI. Detailed information is listed in US-CERT Alert AA23-263A – #StopRansomware: Snatch Ransomware.

The FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued a joint advisory warning organisations about a ransomware-as-a-service operation called "Snatch." Snatch? As in the movie from twenty odd years ago? I'm not sure I've heard of Snatch before... Maybe you haven't.

Save The Children is an organization that specializes in helping children live healthy lives. The non-profit works in multiple countries, helping to provide for children's needs, especially in areas affected by war or tragedy. This organization was recently the target of a ransomware hacker group and suffered huge data losses as a result of that targeting.

For many years, hackers and cybercriminals have used social engineering techniques to gain unauthorized access to confidential information. It is easy to predict that these attacks will continue to advance in sophistication and frequency. Whether they are using AI to create better lures or cyber criminals are just getting more adept at exploiting human nature, the success of these attacks proves the tactics are winning.

Picture this: Your IT infrastructure is breached by a nefarious actor, who then encrypts critical data and holds your organization hostage until a ransom is paid. Far from hypothetical, this is exactly what happened to multi-billion-dollar casino operator MGM Resorts International last week when hit with a ransomware attack – the latest in a string of large-scale, high-profile cyber security incidents.

The International Joint Commission (ICJ), an organization that handles water issues along the Canada–United States border, was hit by a ransomware attack, the Register reports. The Commission said in a statement, “The International Joint Commission has experienced a cyber security incident.

LockBit is a Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) provider accountable for most LockBit ransomware attacks in 2023. The LockBit RaaS group came into existence in 2019 and has posed great challenges to security experts ever since. A recent report states that LockBit accounted for over one-third of all ransomware attacks in the latter half of 2022 and the initial quarter of 2023.

Fileless malware, true to its name, is malicious code that uses existing legitimate programs in a system for compromise. It operates directly in the Random Access Memory (RAM) without requiring any executable files in the hard drive. Differing from conventional malware, fileless attacks are stealthier in nature, falling under the category of low-observable characteristics (LOC) attacks.

CISA, the United States's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has ordered federal agencies to patch their iPhones against vulnerabilities that can be used as part of a zero-click attack to install spyware from the notorious NSO Group.

As the aftermath unfolds, the details around the recent attack on MGM Resorts, providing crucial insight into the attacks impact, who’s responsible, and how it started. On September 11, Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International reported a cybersecurity “issue” affecting many of the company’s systems.

Four days later, $52 million in lost revenues and counting, a cyber attack on MGM Resorts International, a $14 billion Las Vegas gaming empire with Hollywood-famous hotel spreads like the Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Excalibur, Luxor, and the MGM Grand itself, had the house brought down by a perfect example of vishing…a 10-minute phone call. Gamblers could not gamble. Guests could not access rooms. Lights went out. Panic set in.

Netskope Threat Labs is tracking a campaign that uses malicious Python scripts to steal Facebook users’ credentials and browser data. This campaign targets Facebook business accounts with bogus Facebook messages with a malicious file attached. The attacks are reaching victims mainly in Southern Europe and North America across different segments, led by the manufacturing services and technology sectors.

At Rubrik, we are on a mission to Secure the World’s Data and we consider product quality a top priority. In this blog, we will talk about the automated test strategy we follow at Rubrik to ensure the best quality products for our customers. Before we deep dive into our test strategy and the process we follow, let’s quickly understand what product quality means and why it’s important to our organization as well as our customers.

In late August, the FBI took down and dismantled Quakbot, a banking Trojan that primarily spread through spam and phishing emails and has been active and continuously updated since 2008. Trustwave SpiderLabs has tracked Qakbot for years and has worked hard to counter the malware’s efforts, including publicly releasing the encryption algorithm Qakbot used to encrypt registry keys, enabling victims to recover from an attack.

Researchers at Truesec are tracking a phishing campaign that’s distributing the DarkGate Loader malware via external Microsoft Teams messages. “On August 29, in the timespan from 11:25 to 12:25 UTC, Microsoft Teams chat messages were sent from two external Office 365 accounts compromised prior to the campaign,” the researchers write.

When the well-renowned Oracle database started penetrating the enterprise, database administrators typically backed up to tape and disk, with the former being the preferred target. To support the various tape and disk vendors in the marketplace, Oracle came up with the concept of a media management layer that allowed vendors to provide front-ends to their tape or disk devices.

Qakbot, also known as Pinkslipbot, Qbot and Quakbot, is a notorious Banking Trojan designed to steal account credentials and online banking session information leading to account takeover fraud. Commonly distributed via malicious unsolicited email (malspam), Qakbot campaigns reportedly deployed ‘Cobalt Strike’ beacons likely in an attempt to move laterally as well as gaining persistency and establishing a robust communication channel back to the threat actor.

New data suggests that the gangs and toolkits behind current ransomware attacks are materially improving their abilities, resulting in a speeding up of attacks before defenses kick in. It’s the last thing we want to hear; the threat actors are winning. But, according to Sophos’ 2023 Active Adversary Report for Tech Leaders report – at least when looking at threat actor dwell time – it seems to be the case.

As a principal security researcher on Corelight’s Labs team, I help to solve difficult network security research problems at scale. Corelight’s customers might recognize some of my work if you see the packages “VPN Insights” or “App ID” on your sensors. Outside of my day-to-day role, I have a hobby podcast called eCrimeBytes where we lightheartedly discuss an electronic crime case each week.

One thing is becoming evident as ransomware attacks increase in frequency and impact: businesses can take additional precautions. Unfortunately, many companies are failing to do so. Most victims are sufficiently warned about potential weaknesses yet unprepared to recover when hit. Robust ransomware prevention is more important than ever. This becomes very clear when you consider what causes the majority of ransomware attacks nowadays. Some are caused by errors that are easily avoidable.

In a new threat briefing report, Forescout Vedere Labs looks back at the most relevant cybersecurity events and data between January 1 and July 31, 2023 (2023H1) to emphasize the evolution of the threat landscape. The activities and data we saw during this period confirm trends we have been observing in our recent reports, including threats to unmanaged devices that are less often studied.

It’s not a mystery that eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) is a powerful technology, and given its nature, it can be used for good and bad purposes. In this article, we will explore some of the offensive capabilities that eBPF can provide to an attacker and how to defend against them.

British Intelligence has come up with a potentially very effective means to disrupt ransomware attacks, but there seems to still be a few kinks in the system. The phone rings at your U.K. office and it’s the U.K. government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) letting you know they’ve detected a potential cyberattack.