Yesterday, October 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued its “Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments.” The advisory begins with the observation that “ransomware attacks have become more focused, sophisticated, costly, and numerous,” citing certain FBI statistics, before making clear what was already well […]
Digital Crimes
DOJ Charges Seven Individuals in Connection with Global Hacking Campaigns Against More Than 100 Companies
On September 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that seven individuals believed to be part of a hacking group known as APT41 or “Wicked Panda,” including five Chinese nationals and two Malaysian nationals, have been charged in connection with a global hacking campaign that affected more than 100 companies around the world. […]
UK National Cyber Security Centre Advisory: Russian Attackers, APT29, Targets Companies Involved in COVID-19 Vaccine Development
Yesterday, the UK National Cyber Security Centre and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment released an advisory linking APT29 (also known as, ‘the Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear’) to attacks against COVID-19 vaccine development in Canada, the US and the UK. The Advisory stated that APT29 is “almost certainly part of the Russian intelligence services.” APT29/Cozy Bear was […]
FBI Releases IC3 2019 Internet Crime Report
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (“IC3”) has released its 2019 Internet Crime Report (“Report”) on trends and statistics of suspected cybercrimes from 2019. The Report gathers data from 467,361 complaints, an increase from prior years, with dramatic losses in excess of $3.5 billion. In addition to an explanation of the IC3’s history and operations, […]
Treasury Announces Sanctions Against Cybercriminal Group Behind ‘Dridex’ Malware, Offering Mitigation Strategies for Businesses
On December 5, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sanctions against Evil Corp, a Russian cybercriminal organization that is known for distributing the Dridex malware. Dridex is a banking trojan that has been used to target financial institutions across the globe and has resulted in more than $100 million […]