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Providing you the latest industry-specific news and insights.
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What To Do When A Hacker Encrypts Your Data
What should your first step be when a hacker cracks your system? Evgueni Erchov, Arete's head of security research & strategy shares insight with Risk & Insrance's Autumn Demberger.
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Cybersecurity in the Age of Ransomware. It’s More Than Simply Having Insurance.
BY KEVIN BAKER In many ways, cybersecurity insurance is not so different from car or home insurance. In short, it’s a way to transfer risk. If a cyber incident occurs, insurance can help organizations gain a level of mitigating control and…
Read moreSurtr Ransomware Pays Tribute to REvil
Executive Summary In February 2022, Arete investigated a Surtr ransomware incident where the ransomware author(s) paid tribute to the now defunct REvil (aka Sodinokibi) group by making a registry key change to the infected host. REvil was…
Read moreFool Us Once … BlackMatter Initial Access Tactics Point to a Possible REvil Association
BY CYBER THREAT INTELLIGENCE TEAM Arete observed an overlap between a recent BlackMatter case and a Q1 2021 REvil case. In both instances, the actors leveraged the NodeJS-based Gootloader to deliver a CobaltStrike payload. In a March 2021 insight,…
Read morePYSA: 2020 to Now
BY ARETE CYBER THREAT INTELLIGENCE TEAM PYSA is the newest variant of the Mespinoza Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) family, which was first observed infecting victims in the wild in December 2019. PYSA is likely a reference to the open-source web…
Read moreEndpoint Detection and Response: The Closest Thing to a Silver Bullet to Stop Ransomware
By Paul Caron In its recent report “Combating Ransomware,” the Ransomware Task Force says there’s no silver bullet to solving the ransomware challenge. Instead, the group touts a multi-pronged approach and provides an extensive list of…
Read moreAvaddon Ransomware Hits AXA
BY ARETE CYBER THREAT INTELLIGENCE TEAM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY From September 2020 to May 2021, the Arete Incident Response (IR) practice responded to nine Avaddon ransomware engagements across varying industry sectors, including the professional…
Read moreColonial Pipeline Breached by Darkside Ransomware Group
On Saturday May 8, US Colonial Pipeline announced that they were victim of a ransomware attack that affected their network on Friday May 7. US Colonial Pipeline is said to be the largest fuel pipeline in the United States and the main source of…
Read moreBlack Kingdom Returns to Exploit Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in Unpatched Microsoft Exchange Servers
By Steve Ramey You know what’s fun about zero-day exploits? Nothing, especially when ransomware is involved. Earlier this month, Microsoft released a statement notifying the public of a zero-day exploit that affected its on-premises Exchange…
Read moreDon’t Drink from That! Gootloader Watering Hole Leads to REvil Attack
By Arete Forensics Team REvil, more commonly referred to as Sodinokibi, is one of the most prolific ransomware threat groups currently active in the cyber extortion space. In the past year alone, Arete has responded to countless incidents where…
Read moreDear Ramey: Will I Be Hacked Again?
ANSWERING BURNING QUESTIONS FROM VICTIMS OF CYBER EVENTS DEAR RAMEY: My organization was hacked, and ransomware encrypted our files. We have no interest in paying the ransom because we don’t want to encourage malicious activity. Do we have any…
Read moreDarkside Ransomware: Caviar Taste on Your Big-Game Budget
By Arete Cyber Threat Intelligence Team EXECUTIVE SUMMARY By all appearances, the proprietors of Darkside ransomware mean business. Big business. With their sights set on organizations with US$4M+ in revenue, they’re all about high-value,…
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