government
Czech cyber agency warns against Chinese tech in critical infrastructure
The Czech Republic’s National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) is instructing critical infrastructure organizations in the country to avoid using Chinese technology or transferring user data to servers located in China. The agency warned that these actions constitute a significant cybersecurity threat and should be entirely avoided unless there’s a reasonable justification for continuing […]
Pennsylvania AG Office says ransomware attack behind recent outage
The Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General announced that a ransomware attack is behind the ongoing two-week service outage. In an official statement, Attorney General David W. Sunday Jr. said that the office refused to pay the attackers. “The interruption was caused by an outsider encrypting files in an effort to force the office to […]
IT system supplier cyberattack impacts 200 municipalities in Sweden
A cyberattack on Miljödata, an IT systems supplier for roughly 80% of Sweden’s municipal systems, has caused accessibility problems in more than 200 regions of the country. In addition to the service disruption, there are concerns that attackers also stole sensitive data. Local media report that the threat actor demanded a ransom of 1.5 (currently around $168,000) Bitcoins […]
FTC warns tech giants not to bow to foreign pressure on encryption
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning major U.S. tech companies against yielding to foreign government demands that weaken data security, compromise encryption, or impose censorship on their platforms. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson signed the letter sent to large American companies like Akamai, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Signal, Snap, Slack, and […]
APT36 hackers abuse Linux .desktop files to install malware in new attacks
The Pakistani APT36 cyberspies are using Linux .desktop files to load malware in new attacks against government and defense entities in India. The activity, documented in reports by CYFIRMA and CloudSEK, aims at data exfiltration and persistent espionage access. APT 36 has previously used .desktop files to load malware in targeted espionage operations in South Asia. The attacks were first […]
Pennsylvania attorney general’s email, site down after cyberattack
The Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General has announced that a recent cyberattack has taken down its systems, including landline phone lines and email accounts. As Attorney General Dave Sunday revealed on social media on Monday, the office staff is currently working to restore affected services and investigate the incident with the help of law enforcement […]
Curly COMrades cyberspies hit govt orgs with custom malware
A new cyber-espionage threat group has been using a new backdoor malware that provides persistent access through a seemingly inactive scheduled task. The threat actor’s operations appear to support Russian interests by targeting government and judicial bodies in Georgia, and energy firms in Moldova. The attacker is currently tracked as Curly COMrades and has been active since […]
UK to ban public sector orgs from paying ransomware gangs
The United Kingdom’s government is planning to ban public sector and critical infrastructure organizations from paying ransoms after ransomware attacks. The list of entities that would have to follow the new proposed legislation includes local councils, schools, and the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS). “Ransomware is estimated to cost the UK economy millions of […]
Spain arrests hackers who targeted politicians and journalists
The Spanish police have arrested two individuals in the province of Las Palmas for their alleged involvement in cybercriminal activity, including data theft from the country’s government. The duo has been described as a “serious threat to national security” and focused their attacks on high-ranking state officials as well as journalists. They leaked samples of […]
Switzerland says government data stolen in ransomware attack
The government in Switzerland is informing that sensitive information from various federal offices has been impacted by a ransomware attack at the third-party organization Radix. The hackers have stolen data from Radix systems and later leaked it on the dark web, the Swiss government says. The exposed data is being analyzed with the help of the […]