Week 11: The latest mass ransomware attack has been unfolding for nearly two months

This year, hackers have been targeting big brands. A mass ransomware attack has been going on for about two months. The attacks have been adding new victims such as Procter & Gamble and a U.K. pension fund acknowledging. 

The ransomware gang called Clop is responsible for the attack. This group claimed to have attacked 130 victims by exploiting the "zero-day vulnerability in popular file-transfer software. This group is targeting specific targets and was identified on February 1st by Fortra. This is the second mass ransomware of this year. As ransomware gangs look for new vulnerabilities, victims have become unwilling to report or pay for the data and the unlocking of their systems. On February 7th, Fortra released a fix for the vulnerability.

 

Even though Fortra informed their customers that their data was safe, victims later learned that this wasn't true as they were targeted for ransomware. Just the past week, there have been 4 big corporations victims of a breach. The data security company Rubrik believed that there have been about 1 million patients that may have been affected. The U.S. government is focusing on taking down cybercrime forums and recovering payments for victims of ransomware, as well as prioritizing disruptive operations. In addition, VPN apps that are linked to Chinese developers and that are downloaded by users in the United States pose a greater threat to security than TikTok. 

Many cyberattacks have been targeting companies, instilling fear into their users’ minds. The importance of strengthening and developing new strategies is being displayed as hackers find more and more vulnerabilities, and as companies try to hide their data breaches. 

Reference: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/27/latest-mass-ransomware-attack-has-been-unfolding-nearly-two-months/