Ransomware

An American security company called Commvault commissioned a survey last week that found Australian businesses have recovered much more quickly from cyberattacks over the past year, thanks to improved preparedness and tighter government regulations on security.

As we head into 2025, here are some simple but effective cybersecurity resolutions you should embrace to avoid suffering the same fate as the many Americans hit by hacking, phishing, and identity theft.

The University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, a critical level-one trauma hospital, has been severely impacted by a ransomware attack, leading to the diversion of emergency patients to nearby facilities. With the only level-one trauma center within 400 miles crippled, West Texas residents have been placed at significant risk by America’s failure to fight cybercrime.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday unsealed an indictment of five Russian intelligence officers, plus one Russian civilian, for conducting the “WhisperGate” cyberattack on Ukrainian infrastructure in January 2022. The case is largely symbolic but offers an interesting look at what the FBI described as “the first shot of the war.”

A Russian cyber gang is believed to be behind a ransomware attack that disrupted London hospitals and led to operations being canceled.

UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest health insurance providers in the United States, recently disclosed that a ransomware attack on its subsidiary, Change Healthcare, has led to a significant theft of private healthcare data belonging to a “substantial proportion of people in America.”

LoanDepot, a leading provider in the loan and mortgage industry, has reported a significant cybersecurity breach impacting approximately 16.6 million customers.

Fidelity National Financial, a major player in real estate services such as title insurance and escrow, recently fell victim to a devastating ransomware attack, causing widespread confusion and concern among homeowners and potential buyers.

A ransomware attack on the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the communist county’s largest bank, has reportedly caused a disruption at the U.S. Treasury market.

The FBI on Tuesday announced a successful multinational operation to take down a cybercrime ring known as “Qakbot.” The gang used an enormous botnet to spread ransomware through spam emails, inflicting hundreds of millions of dollars in damage on computer users around the world.

In an unprecedented event in the healthcare industry, St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley, Illinois, is set to close its doors, partially due to a crippling ransomware attack that occurred in 2021. This marks the first time a hospital has publicly attributed its closure to a cyberattack. One administrator explained the extent of the cyberattack, saying,  “You’re dead in the water. We were down a minimum of 14 weeks. And then you’re trying to recover. Nothing went out. No claims. Nothing got entered. So it took months and months and months.” she said.

Dallas, Texas, is grappling with a ransomware attack that has caused widespread service outages and impacted critical systems, including 911 dispatch services. The Royal ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack, which has left the Texas city scrambling to restore services and assess the full extent of the damage.

The U.S. Marshals Service fell victim to a security breach recently, compromising sensitive information. Although private data on topics like investigations was part of the breach, officials claim no data for the witness protection program was leaked.

A hacker group reportedly accessed the computer systems of Knox College and gained access to student data, threatening students with the release of their private information. This is a major shift in ransomware attacks, which typically are aimed at institutions, not individual Americans.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday that his government’s National Cyber Security Center has determined hackers linked to the Iranian regime were “almost certainly” behind a massive cyberattack against the Albanian government in July. Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran over the incident, enraging Tehran.

Ransomware attacks have become a growing issue in recent years, now a new report claims that hackers cost schools $3.56 billion in losses and downtime in just 2021.

CARACAS – New York prosecutors charged Venezuelan cardiologist Moisés Luis Zagala González this month with designing and licensing malware used by cybercriminal groups, including some with ties to the Islamist regime of Iran.

The government of Costa Rica declared a state of emergency this week after a massive ransomware attack locked down computer networks across multiple government agencies, paralyzing tax collection and leaving the private information of Costa Rican citizens vulnerable.

According to a recent report, one of the most prolific ransomware groups of 2021 operates in a manner similar to a legitimate business with a human resources department, employee performance reviews, and even an employee of the month award. The gang has reportedly generated $2.7 billion in cryptocurrency through their illegal schemes.

The U.S. Treasury announced Sunday the development of a joint task force with Israel’s Ministry of Finance to combat ransomware attacks and reinforce international cybersecurity.

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal outlines a lawsuit that alleges that computer outages as a result of ransomware attacks led to the staff of an Alabama hospital missing key signs of trouble resulting in a baby’s death.

According to a recent analysis of school files from dark web pages performed by NBC News, the personal data of millions of schoolchildren is being spread across the internet. The data found on students includes social security numbers and medical conditions.

In 2019 the city of Borger, Texas, dealt with one of the earliest ransomware attacks in a recent series of Russia-based hacks. Although some services were disrupted, the town had most of its files backed up and essential services remained up. The town did not pay the $2.5 million ransom demanded by the hackers.

Executives at Miami-based software company Kaseya were reportedly warned of critical flaws in its software before a ransomware attack this month that affected as many as 1,500 companies, according to former employees.

According to a recent report, the code used by the Russian-speaking hacking ring REvil in its ransomware attacks was written to avoid systems that primarily use the Russian language.

The hackers behind the recent ransomware attack of the IT firm Kaseya have offered a universal decryptor software key that could unlock all affected machines for $70 million.

Between 800 and 1,500 businesses worldwide have reportedly been affected by a ransomware attack focused on the U.S. information technology firm Kaseya, according to the firm’s CEO.

Yet another massive ransomware attack has taken place as hackers continue to hold valuable systems hostage — receiving millions of dollars in the process.

Polish game developer CD Projekt Red, the popular company behind the Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, has revealed this week that proprietary data taken in a ransomware attack disclosed four months ago is circulating online.

JBS, the largest beef supplier in the world, reportedly paid ransomware hackers who breached its computer networks about $11 million to regain access to its systems.

The Justice Department announced on Monday that it had recovered $2.3 million of the cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline Co. to ransomware hackers. The funds were seized from an account located in California, leading many to suspect the ransom was paid to a Coinbase wallet — a claim the cryptocurrency exchange has denied.

The United States government is said to have recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency paid as a ransom to the hackers believed to be behind the cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline Co., the largest pipeline system for oil products in the country.

On Friday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Fast Money Halftime Report,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated that the government doesn’t know whether meat producer JBS paid ransom in response to a cyberattack against the company. CNBC Senior Washington Correspondent Eamon Javers

During a portion of an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson stated that she views “cybersecurity as my greater concern than a mob attacking the Capitol.” Gibson said, “I worry a

The FBI has attributed the recent cyberattack on meat supplier JBS to a Russian hacker group called REvil.

The Massachusetts Steamship Authority was hit by a cyberattack on Wednesday, which took its website offline and caused delays for ferry travelers.