Tag Archives: FBI

FBI and CISA Issue Advisory on Scattered Spider Ransomware Attacks

Key Takeaways:

  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have jointly issued a cybersecurity advisory in response to recent activity by the threat actor group known as Scattered Spider.
  • Scattered Spider is known to target large companies holding sensitive data – including financial services, telecommunications, business process outsourcing, hospitality, and cryptocurrency firms – for ransomware attacks.
  • Scattered Spider largely relies upon impersonating IT support professionals and manipulating target company employees into sharing passwords or running malicious executables through remote access software.…

    • More

CISA and Partners Update the #StopRansomware Guide, Developed through the Joint Ransomware Task Force

On May 23, 2023, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) published an updated version of the #StopRansomware Guide, as ransomware actors have accelerated their tactics and techniques since its initial release in 2020. The update incorporates lessons learned from the past two years and includes additional recommended actions,… More

Kaseya VSA Cyberattack: What Kaseya and the Feds Are Saying

If you aren’t following the ransomware attack on Kaseya’s VSA product and approximately 800-1500 of its users, you should be.  Like many cyberattacks, this one came on the verge of a holiday weekend.  As the company itself notes, “Kaseya’s VSA product has unfortunately been the victim of a sophisticated cyberattack.   Due to our teams’ fast response, we believe that this has been localized to a very small number of on-premises customers only. … More

CISA Issues Ransomware Alert for Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sectors

On October 28, 2020, a joint cybersecurity advisory was coauthored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This advisory describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by cybercriminals against targets in the healthcare and public health sectors to infect their systems with Ryuk ransomware for financial gain.

CISA,… More

FBI Warns of Teleconferencing and Online Classroom Hijacking

If you are among the many people turning to video-teleconferencing (VTC) to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, you need to protect yourself from “Zoom-bombing” – the entrance of uninvited individuals into your VTC.  The FBI has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by offensive images and/or threatening language.

The FBI recommends the following steps to mitigate VTC hijacking threats:

  • Do not make meetings or classrooms public:
    • In Zoom,…

    • More

Ransomware Update: The FBI Weighs In

The FBI recently released an article discussing the spate of ransomware attacks on a variety of different entities, including hospitals. In the article, the FBI warned that ransomware attacks and the cybercriminals carrying them out are growing increasingly sophisticated.  The FBI opposes paying a ransom when hit by a ransomware attack, saying that doing do incentivizes more ransomware attacks, can inadvertently fund other illegal activity, and does not always result in the restoration of access. … More

Is Teamwork the Answer to Data Security?

Increasingly, alliances are viewed as an important way to improve data security.  The Washington Post reports that the National Security Agency is now working with Internet service providers to thwart cyberattacks against defense firms by foreign adversaries.  We have previously noted two other initiatives:   the Advanced Cyber Security Center (to which Foley Hoag serves as legal counsel).and InfraGuard, a Federal Bureau of Investigation program. … More