Ransomware

The gang allegedly had been involved in some of the highest-profile ransomware attacks against financial institutions of recent years.

Many of the attack vectors, including ransomware and phishing, will likely continue to plague the industry through 2024.

A third-party provider for credit unions failed to fix a long-patched vulnerability, according to a cybersecurity researcher who has studied the situation.

The cybercriminals said a new SEC rule required loan software company MeridianLink to report last week's breach, but the rule does not take effect until next month.

The market stayed open four extra hours to allow participants to reroute trades Thursday after an attack by cybercrime group Lockbit.

The new rules also expand the use of "proven protections," such as multifactor authentication, according to Adrienne Harris, superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The bank suffered its third breach in three years, this time by virtue of a vulnerability in Progress Software's file-transfer system. But Flagstar is only one of many such victims.

In a Wednesday Congressional hearing, an assistant superintendent explained why her school district decided to pay a ransom to cyber criminals. It's a cautionary tale for banks, which are often targets.

Two federal agencies recently released a warning about a strain of ransomware called Snatch, which has adopted the successful tactics of other variants.

Ongoing disruptions and a reported ransom payment highlight the complexity of cybercrime networks and the pitfalls of paying ransoms.

The botnet of 700,000 computers — many in the U.S. — had assisted in major ransomware attacks, with the financial sector as its primary target.

The attack on AvidXchange, which the company said it learned about in early April, exposed its bank account numbers and some embarrassing security practices. It's part of a growing trend of data exfiltration attacks.

Alphv developers claimed responsibility for an attack that started last week against the payments and digital banking software maker. The ransomware is more sophisticated than many of its peers.

A consortium of financial companies said premiums are rising despite a relatively low level of overall risk, causing some banks to reconsider their policies.

The increases may simply reflect better detection and reporting, but banks continue to facilitate large ransom payments to sanctioned individuals.

A new wave of cyberattacks is targeting banks and other companies, two research groups have found.

The government helped the gas pipeline operator recoup some of the funds it paid to cyberthieves, but that's unlikely to happen often. Banks should shore up password security to minimize risk and be willing to reject hackers' demands in the event of a breach.

Before its disappearance, Avaddon said it hacked Valley National Bank's network and threatened to leak sensitive data. The bank is still investigating.

Hackers, including the group behind the breach at Colonial Pipeline, have posted convincing evidence that they have broken into the servers of community banks in Florida and California and stolen customers' data.

By upgrading permissions and defining access, firms can get ahead of the new threat, says vArmour's Marc Woolword.