Tagged: ransomware

May 10, 2022 @ 9:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Department of State is offering a reward of “up to $10,000,000 for information leading to the identification and/or location of any individual(s) who hold a key leadership position in the Conti ransomware variant transnational organized crime group.” In addition, the Department is also offering… Read More

April 19, 2022 @ 8:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CipherTrace, a Mastercard Company, has reported a significant increase in the number of payments “made to ransomware groups in 2021.” The growth in this criminal enterprise “is so large that the first six months of 2021 saw payments that matched the whole of 2020.” With… Read More

February 24, 2022 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

One positive development during the past year has been law enforcement’s “growing” ability to seize virtual currency from criminals, according to an extensive update from Chainalysis. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) seized $2.3 million in crypto from the DarkSide ransomware operators who were allegedly… Read More

December 2, 2021 @ 9:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Ransomware attempts are said to rise by 30% monthly, on average, during the holidays, according to a note by Darktrace. The cybersecurity firm says that its researchers are comparing global data from 2018 to 2020 When comparing November and December to January and February, the… Read More

November 8, 2021 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Alleged perpetrators of the ransomware attack on, Kaseya – an IT firm that helped systems administrators manage large networks, have been charged by the US Department of Justice for the attack. This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task… Read More

October 4, 2021 @ 3:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On Tuesday, September 21, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had released an advisory on the sanctions risks associated with carrying out ransomware payments and the “proactive” steps firms may take to address these types of risks. This… Read More

September 21, 2021 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ransomware attacks have become quite prevalent with nefarious actors targeting domestic firms, frequently demanding ransom in crypto. Today, the US Department of Treasury has announced a group of actions designed to mitigate ransomware activity including designating crypto exchange SUEX OTC as a “complicit financial service”… Read More

September 14, 2021 @ 8:40 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Sophos‘ new survey report, “The State of Ransomware in Financial Services 2021,” shows 2020 was an expensive year for those unlucky companies victimized by ransomware attacks Mid-sized financial services organizations worldwide spent an average of more than $2 million recovering from a ransomware attack. Even… Read More

August 17, 2021 @ 11:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, a provider of security tools and services for crypto AML/CTF, transaction risk management, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity, revealed that it has rolled out its Digital Asset Tracking Service, a solution developed for ransomware victims as well as crypto crime “caused by theft, hacking,… Read More

August 14, 2021 @ 1:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A blockchain analytics tool has reportedly been introduced on the dark web, enabling Bitcoin or BTC addresses to be checked for “links to criminal activity.” Known as Antinalysis, it allows cryptocurrency launderers to test or determine whether their funds will be “identified as proceeds of… Read More

July 21, 2021 @ 7:16 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

New data released this week by Kaspersky shows even Africa is not immune from cyber attacks. While not considered a hotbed of financial opportunity, many African countries are seeing attacks at rates similar to the global average of one out of every 10 computers in… Read More

July 17, 2021 @ 4:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Leading blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has released an update titled, “Not All Blockchain Analysis Providers Are the Same and Other Insights from FATF’s Second 12-Month Review.” The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the inter-governmental entity that’s responsible for establishing international standards relating to anti-money… Read More

July 1, 2021 @ 10:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On June 30, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes, issued its first… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 7:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On June 7, 2021, the US Department of Justice announced that they had managed to seize 63.69 BTC (valued at around $2.5 million) of the 75 BTC ransom Colonial Pipeline was forced to pay to DarkSide. This ransom recovery is notably the very first undertaken… Read More

June 8, 2021 @ 8:53 am By JD Alois  |  

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack caused incredible disruptions to the US economy costing businesses and consumers millions of dollars in lost productivity. As the price of gas rose, and people queued up at stations waiting on the dwindling supply due to the malfeasance, the perpetrators,… Read More

May 16, 2021 @ 1:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic revealed recently that they followed the Bitcoin (BTC) ransoms paid by Colonial Pipeline and other DarkSide ransomware victims. Dr. Tom Robinson, Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Elliptic, regularly discusses crypto forensics, investigations, compliance, and sanctions. Elliptic clients are… Read More

April 24, 2021 @ 12:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Last week, the US sanctioned several groups and individuals because of their alleged association with “disinformation” campaigns that were reportedly coordinated by the Russian government. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis points out that a few of the sanctioned utilized virtual currency in their “criminal endeavors,” and… Read More

March 2, 2021 @ 7:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On January 27, 2021, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that there had been a significant disruption of the NetWalker ransomware strain. FBI agents assigned to the case had taken down a website NetWalker attackers had allegedly used to communicate with the unsuspecting victims…. Read More

January 30, 2021 @ 4:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ransomware “skyrocketed” last year, however, there might be “fewer culprits” than we may think or expect, according to a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. Chainalysis acknowledges that 2020 will “forever be known” as the year of COVID-19, but when it comes to cryptocurrency-related crime,… Read More

December 12, 2020 @ 12:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace reports that only 22% of banking industry professionals and financial investigators “feel confident” in their ability to accurately identify cryptocurrency -related payments. In a December 9, 2020, CipherTrace-ACFCS Webinar on “How Cryptocurrency Intelligence Tipped the Scales in 2020 Sanctions Evasion,” more… Read More