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 […]
National Security & Digital Crimes
SEC Focused on Protecting Customer Accounts from Credential Stuffing Attacks
OCIE has released a risk alert regarding credential stuffing in the context of compliance with Regulation S-P and Regulation S-ID, and is encouraging firms to both (i) review and update their policies and procedures to address the risks associated with credential stuffing and (ii) consider proactive outreach to customers regarding measures taken to safeguard their […]
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. […]
EU Announces First Sanctions under EU Cyber Sanctions Regime
On July 30, 2020, the European Council announced sanctions against six individuals and three organizations for their involvement in a series of cyber-attacks that have caused significant damage in the EU and around the world over the last several years. The announcement follows the EU’s adoption last year of Decision (CFSP) 2019/797, which established the […]
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 […]