Ransomware DataBreachToday.com

iSoon CEO, COO and Sales Director Among 10 Indicted for Cyberespionage, Wire Fraud
A U.S. federal grand jury in Manhattan indicted the senior leadership of a Chinese private sector hacking contractor iSoon for supporting Beijing cyberespionage operations roughly a year after internal documents from the firm leaked online.

CFO Manish Narula Promoted to CEO as Fate of Proposed Trustwave Merger Gets Murky
One of the messiest public spats at a cybersecurity company in recent memory has led to the resignation of its chief executive officer. Erin Gan walked away from Cybereason after seemingly coming up short in his battle to wrestle control of the endpoint security vendor away from a pair of investors.

Prosecutors Accuse Yin Kecheng of 2024 Department of Treasury Hacking
U.S. federal authorities Tuesday seized digital infrastructure traced to two Shanghai hackers operating on behalf of the Chinese government as "Silk Typhoon," responsible for a late 2024 incursion into the Department of Treasury.

Off-Brand Android Devices Come Infected With a Trojan
A botnet infected more than 1 million off-brand Android devices manufactured in China, which reached consumers with a backdoor already installed. Scammers used the devices for programmatic ad fraud, click fraud and converting the devices into a residential proxy.

The Health Sector Coordinating Council is kicking off a health sector mapping initiative aimed at helping the ecosystem avoid massive disruptions in the event of major cyber incidents, said Greg Garcia, executive director for cybersecurity at the Health Sector Coordinating Council.

The majority of significant attacks hitting the health sector involve unpatched vulnerabilities dating back years, a situation cybercriminals are more easily and swiftly able to exploit using AI-based tools, said Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center President and CEO Denise Anderson.

As clinicians move to a model of working anywhere - on many types of devices and under a variety of different internet environments - web browser security is a heightened concern, said John Frushour, vice president and CISO at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and CyberEdBoard member.

Hiatus Could Embolden Moscow
Reports suggesting that the U.S. federal government is going soft on Russia in cyberspace sent shockwaves through the cybersecurity community. Resuming computer network attacks and other exploitation efforts after a pause isn't as simple as flipping a switch.

Code of Practice for Software Vendors Sets Baseline Security Expectations
A British government proposal to strengthen software supply chain security received positive feedback from vendors who said voluntary best practices could strengthen cyber defenses. The guidelines suggest requiring multifactor authentication for developers and timely vulnerability patching.

Gartner's Bart Willemsen on Need to Adopt Post-Quantum Cryptography
Nation-state adversaries will likely harvest stolen encrypted data for decryption using quantum decryption, when available. Bart Willemsen, vice president analyst at Gartner, urges enterprises to transition to post-quantum cryptography algorithms to safeguard their data.

RansomHub, Play, Akira and Clop Among the Groups Claiming the Most Victims
Ransomware operations have collectively claimed what amounts to a surge in new victims. Researchers trace much of this activity to RansomHub, Play and Akira, as well as Clop, which continues to drip-feed details about its attack on users of Cleo Communications' managed file-transfer software.

Fake Error Messages Trick Users Into Deploying a C2 Framework Via PowerShell
A newly discovered phishing campaign is using social engineering to dupe victims into copying, pasting and running the Havoc command-and-control framework on their computers, warn researchers from Fortinet. "ClickFix" displays a fake error message and instructions for its supposed resolution.

The adoption of privacy enhancing technologies, including fully homomorphic encryption, can help secure data as it is collected, integrated and shared for detecting and responding to public health emergencies such as bird flu, said Kurt Rohloff, co-founder and CTO of Duality Technologies.

Reports: Cyber Command Ordered to Halt Offensive Operations Against Russia
Russia won't have the United States to worry about in cyberspace in an apparent concession to Moscow meant to grease talks between the two capitals over the fate of Ukraine. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive cyber operations against Russia.

AI-Driven Incident Response, Observability Boost SolarWinds' Operational Efficiency
SolarWinds' acquisition of Squadcast strengthens its IT management portfolio with AI-powered incident response. Customers report faster remediation, reduced noise and improved resilience. The integration promises a smarter, more efficient approach to IT operations.

Committee Witnesses Favor Resilience Over Bans
The British government should focus on building operational resilience rather than imposing ransom payment bans, security experts told a parliamentary committee. The British government in January floated a ban on the public sector and critical infrastructure owners paying digital extortion.

After Disrupting Ascension Health, Black Basta Forecast Reprisals From FBI, Moscow
"We are pentesters, not murderers," ransomware group Black Basta claimed in its negotiations with victim Ascension Healthcare in May 2024, after its attack led to widespread disruptions and patient safety alerts. Leaked chat logs reveal the group feared resulting reprisals from the FBI and Moscow.

Researchers: Ransomware Group Emerged Last Fall; Variant of Babuk Malware
A new ransomware gang, Termite, has started leaking on the dark web samples of sensitive data stolen in an attack on Australian fertility clinic Genea. A court has issued a restraining order in hopes of preventing the threat actor or others from further disseminating, using or publishing the data.

Model Appears to Be a Way Station on the Road to Something Greater
OpenAI on Thursday released its latest generative AI model, but don't call it the next big thing just yet. More thoughtful, persuasive and emotionally intelligent, GPT-4.5 aims to feel less like an algorithm and more like a conversation partner.

Current and Former Officials Express Optimism, Concerns Over Cyber Leadership Picks
Top leadership at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency may be coming into view as the Trump administration has begun attaching names to senior positions. Karen Evans will be executive assistant director for cybersecurity.