united states
US sanctions North Korean bankers linked to cybercrime, IT worker fraud
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two North Korean financial institutions and eight individuals involved in laundering cryptocurrency stolen in cybercrime and fraudulent IT worker schemes. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Ryujong Credit Bank, a North Korea-based financial institution linked to sanctions-evasion activities between North Korea and China, including money laundering. OFAC […]
Ukrainian extradited from Ireland on Conti ransomware charges
A Ukrainian national believed to be a member of the Conti ransomware operation has been extradited to the United States and faces charges that could get him 25 years in prison. 43-year-old Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko allegedly controlled data stolen from many of Conti victims and was involved in sending ransom notes as part of the […]
Major telecom services provider Ribbon breached by state hackers
Ribbon Communications, a provider of telecommunications services to the U.S. government and telecom companies worldwide, revealed that nation-state hackers breached its IT network as early as December 2024. Ribbon provides networking solutions and secure cloud communications services to telecommunications companies and critical infrastructure organizations worldwide. The company has over 3,100 employees in 68 global offices, […]
Microsoft: Hackers target universities in “payroll pirate” attacks
A cybercrime gang tracked as Storm-2657 has been targeting university employees in the United States to hijack salary payments in “pirate payroll” attacks since March 2025. Microsoft Threat Intelligence analysts who spotted this campaign found that the threat actors are targeting Workday accounts; however, other third-party human resources (HR) software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms could also be […]
US investors to take over TikTok operations in the country
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order approving a plan to restructure TikTok operations in the country to address national security concerns. TikTok is a massively popular short-form video platform owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. The social media service has a strong presence in the U.S., counting more than 170 million users, according […]
Amazon pays $2.5 billion to settle Prime memberships lawsuit
Amazon will pay $2.5 billion to settle claims by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it used dark patterns to trick millions of users into enrolling in its Prime program and made it as difficult as possible to cancel the recurring subscriptions. The settlement requires Amazon to pay a $1 billion civil penalty and […]
Google: Brickstorm malware used to steal U.S. orgs’ data for over a year
Suspected Chinese hackers have used the Brickstorm malware in long-term persistence espionage operations against U.S. organizations in the technology and legal sectors. Brickstorm is a Go-based backdoor documented by Google in April 2024 following China-related intrusions that spawned from various edge devices and remained undetected in the victim environment for more than a year, on average. The […]
Kosovo hacker pleads guilty to running BlackDB cybercrime marketplace
Kosovo national Liridon Masurica has pleaded guilty to running BlackDB.cc, a cybercrime marketplace that has been active since 2018. Kosovar authorities arrested the 33-year-old defendant (also known online as @blackdb) on December 14, 2024. He was extradited to the United States on May 9, 2025, and detained following his court appearance in Tampa on May 12. Masurica […]
US charges admin of LockerGoga, MegaCortex, Nefilim ransomware
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Ukrainian national Volodymyr Viktorovich Tymoshchuk for his role as the administrator of the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware operations. Also known online as deadforz, Boba, msfv, and farnetwork, Tymoshchuk was involved in ransomware attacks that led to the breach of hundreds of companies, resulting in millions of dollars […]
Microsoft gives US students a free year of Microsoft 365 Personal
Microsoft announced that starting this Thursday, all college students in the United States can get a free year of Microsoft 365 Personal. For everyone else, a yearly Microsoft 365 Personal subscription costs $99.99. It provides ransomware protection for photos and files stored on OneDrive, 1 TB of secure cloud storage, and can be used on up to […]