Garmin, a multinational tech company, has been operating at less than full capacity following a ransomware attack launched by the Russian cybergang, Evil Corp. Garmin is being extorted for a $10 million ransom, to be paid in cryptocurrency. According to a report published by Bleeping Computer, an unidentified Garmin employee confirmed that the WastedLocker ransomware took down the company’s customer support services, navigation solutions, and other aspects of the U.S.-based firm. The leader of the cybercriminal group is a Russian individual named Maksim Yakubets. A known criminal, Yakubets was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2019. He was …

Smartwatch maker and data-syncing service provider, Garmin, was the subject of a ransomware attack that took down several of its services on July 23, which managed to encrypt its internal network. According to a series of tweets published by the company, the Garmin Connect website and mobile app were affected by the hackers, plus the call centers and every customer support resources like replying emails, online chats, and handling calls. However, the nature of the attack was unveiled by ZDNet, who also stated that the cybercriminals also targeted flyGarmin, the company’s service that supports its line of aviation navigational equipment. …

Ransomware gang REvil stole over 800 GB of data from ADIF, the Spanish state-owned railway infrastructure manager, after a successful attack deployed on their systems. According to El Español, the authorship of the cyberattack belongs to the well-known ransomware group after they published a post on the official darknet website of REvil on July 22, who boasted of adding another victim. The cybercriminals claimed to have caught over 800 GB in data from the servers of ADIF, although it’s not confirmed how they managed to breach the security of the railway infrastructure manager based in Madrid. REvil didn’t disclose major …

Over the past few weeks, TikTok has found itself in hot water over security issues. First, it was axed in India along with 58 Chinese apps for “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner.” Later, it became a major target for Trump’s administration against the backdrop of America’s faltering relationship with China and was even banned for Wells Fargo and Amazon employees, with the latter later retracing the news, saying it did not intend to prohibit using TikTok. While the censure of TikTok’s data collection habits seems to stem from mostly geopolitical reasons — its harshest critics …

The UK National Cyber Security Centre released a report on July 23 that discloses a growing trend in ransomware attacks against the sports sector. They noted a recent example in which attackers demanded that an English Football League club, or EFL, pay a multi-million dollar ransom in Bitcoin (BTC). According to the Cyber Threat to Sports Organizations paper, the unnamed club was targeted by ransomware that crippled their corporate security systems. The ransom amount requested was 400 BTC ($3.66 million). The club declined to pay, resulting in a loss of their stored data. The attack could have had a great …

Over the years, it has become a known fact for anyone dealing with cryptocurrencies that scams are running rampant. However, as more novice players enter the market, more scammers up their tactics to take advantage of unsuspecting Bitcoin enthusiasts with fake Bitcoin giveaways and other elaborate schemes. Recently, a new bout of scammers has emerged with even more sophisticated and aggressive tactics. As evident through most reports, the scammers are taking advantage of popular social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter to capture their victims. For instance, on July 13 Charles Hoskinson who is the founder of Cardano warned about …

The University of York has confirmed that a ransomware attack from an unnamed gang took place in May. Vulnerabilities from their third-party service provider led to the data breach. According to an announcement via the University’s website, Blackbaud, one of the world’s largest customer relationship management systems for sectors such as the education, confirmed that the cybercriminals managed to extract copies of staff, alumni, and student records. The university clarified that no sensitive information, such as banking details or login credentials, were stolen by the gang. Overall, the hackers captured basic info like names, date birth dates, addresses, contact details, …

The threat intelligence team at Cisco Systems discovered a new cryptojacking botnet named “Prometei.” This botnet both mines Monero (XMR) and steals data from the targeted system. According to the paper sent to Cointelegraph, the botnet has been active since May. It relies on 15 executable modules to recover administrator passwords from the infected computer. Password validity is verified by sending them to a control server connected to other networks. Once the malware has obtained access to the user’s administrative rights, it proceeds to record all data contained within the system. Cisco Talos estimates this botnet may contain up to …

Mexican users of public cloud networks report a surge in cryptojacking and ransomeware attacks in recent months. According to El Economista, almost three quarters of Mexican companies that use cloud networks including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, report security incidents resulting in negative perceptions by citizens. Less than a third of the locals fully trust cloud network security. Ransomware attacks Security weaknesses allow threat actors to deploy other crypto-related attacks like ransomware, including a recent case where an oil company, Pemex, was targeted by the DoppelPaymer gang. The report says that Mexican companies have been reporting instances where unknown cybercriminals are …

Cybersecurity experts are warning that the Twitter hack on July 15 shows that the social network needs to strengthen its security in order to avoid a worse black swan scenario with serious consequences. In the most recent incident, attackers launched a crypto giveaway scam by posting phishing messages through the hijacked profiles of celebrities and high-ranked political personalities worldwide, collecting over 13 Bitcoin (BTC) from the victims. The attack could have been worse Ilya Sachkov, CEO of threat intelligence firm Group-IB, believes the attack demonstrated a “huge problem of low financial literacy and bad cyber hygiene.” He told Cointelegraph: “This …

Telecom, Argentina's largest telecommunications company, has fallen victim to a ransomware attack. Hackers are demanding $7.5 million in Monero (XMR) — an amount that will rise to $15 million if the company does not pay within 48 hours. Argentina's major telephone company, Telecom, just got hacked. Hackers requesting a ransom of $7.5 million in Monero. $XMR pic.twitter.com/AGNvAXh1cg — Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) July 19, 2020 According to El Tribuno, the ransomware attack, which specifically affected Telecom’s call center, took place on July 18. The ransomware was ultimately contained by the Argentinian conglomerate’s IT workers. In a statement issued to local media …

Twitter vows to add more security training and measures as the fallout from Wednesday’s wide-scale hack on the social platform continues. Twitter said in a statement that it is continuing its investigation into the hack while it looks to provide more company-wide security training against social engineering tactics. This will be in addition to cybersecurity coaching they get during onboarding and ongoing phishing exercises. About 130 accounts were compromised on Wednesday when hackers took over prominent Twitter accounts in a Bitcoin hoax. Those compromised included Elon Musk, Kanye West, Bill Gates, former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden, …