Sanctions
US cracks down on North Korean IT worker army with more sanctions
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a network of individuals and front companies linked to North Korea’s Ministry of National Defense that have generated revenue via illegal remote IT work schemes. “The DPRK continues to rely on its thousands of overseas IT workers to generate revenue for the regime, to finance its illegal weapons programs, […]
Biden signs executive order to bolster national cybersecurity
Days before leaving office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to shore up the United States’ cybersecurity by making it easier to sanction hacking groups targeting federal agencies and the nation’s critical infrastructure. These also include ransomware gangs, which have been continuously targeting U.S. healthcare organizations in recent years, causing disruptions by encrypting systems […]
US sanctions Chinese company linked to Flax Typhoon hackers
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Beijing-based cybersecurity company Integrity Tech for its involvement in cyberattacks attributed to the Chinese state-sponsored Flax Typhoon hacking group. As the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on Friday, the Chinese state-sponsored hackers used the company’s infrastructure to launch attacks targeting networks of victims in Europe and […]
Chinese hackers targeted sanctions office in Treasury attack
Chinese state-backed hackers have reportedly breached the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a Treasury Department office that administers and enforces trade and economic sanctions programs. OFAC was created in December 1950, blocking all Chinese and North Korean assets under U.S. jurisdiction after China entered the Korean War. In a letter sent to Congress this […]
Recorded Future CEO applauds “undesirable” designation by Russia
Recorded Future, an American threat intelligence company, has become the first cybersecurity firm designated by the Russian government as an “undesirable” organization. The Russian authorities effectively banned all Recorded Future activity in the country by tagging the company “undesirable,” a label Russia introduced almost a decade ago to describe Western NGOs. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a Wednesday […]
US sanctions Chinese firm for hacking firewalls in ransomware attacks
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Chinese cybersecurity company Sichuan Silence and one of its employees for their involvement in a series of Ragnarok ransomware attacks targeting U.S. critical infrastructure companies and many other victims worldwide in April 2020. According to the Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Sichuan Silence is a Chengdu-based cybersecurity […]
UK disrupts Russian money laundering networks used by ransomware
A law enforcement operation led by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has disrupted two Russian money laundering networks working with criminals worldwide, including ransomware gangs. Dubbed “Operation Destabilise,” this international investigation has led to the arrest of 84 Russian-speaking suspects linked to the Smart (led by Ukrainian George Rossi) and TGR (controlled by […]
Russia arrests US-sanctioned Cryptex founder, 95 other linked suspects
Russian law enforcement detained almost 100 suspects linked to the Cryptex cryptocurrency exchange, the UAPS anonymous payment service, and 33 other online services and platforms used to make illegal payments and sell stolen credentials. Following 148 raids, 96 individuals were arrested and charged with organizing and participating in a criminal organization, unlawful access to computer […]
Iranian hackers charged for ‘hack-and-leak’ plot to influence election
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging three Iranian hackers with a “hack-and-leak” campaign that aimed to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Iranian nationals Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yaser Balaghi worked for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to hack the accounts of current and former U.S. officials, individuals linked […]
US cracks down on spyware vendor Intellexa with more sanctions
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned five executives and one entity linked to the Intellexa Consortium for developing and distributing Predator commercial spyware. Intellexa Consortium is a network of decentralized companies that developed and sold highly intrusive spyware products marketed under the “Predator” brand. Predator spyware has allowed Intellexa customers worldwide — mostly […]