Data breach at Finnish psychotherapy center takes a darker turn with extortion attempts

The response to a data breach at a prominent Finnish psychotherapy practice intensified over the weekend after cybercriminals reportedly posted batches of patient information on the dark web and claimed that individual people could protect their data by directly paying a ransom. The breach at Vastaamo, which has locations throughout Finland, prompted an emergency meeting of the country’s Cabinet on Sunday. The company said the incident happened as early as November 2018. Local news reports say the attackers didn’t contact Vastaamo with any demands until September of this year. Neither the company nor Finnish investigators have released many details about the nature of the breach, but reports say the attackers initially sought a payment of about 450,000 euros to protect about 40,000 patient records. The company reportedly did not pay up. Given the scale of the attack and the sensitive nature of the stolen data, the case has become a […]

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Ransomware Group Makes Splashy $20K Donation to Charities

Cybercriminal gang Darkside sent $20K in donations to charities in a ‘Robin Hood’ effort that’s likely intended to draw attention to future data dumps, according to experts. Continue reading Ransomware Group Makes Splashy $20K Donation to Charities

News Wrap: Barnes & Noble Hack, DDoS Extortion Threats and More

From a cyberattack on Barnes & Noble to Zoom rolling out end-to-end encryption, Threatpost editors break down the top security stories of the week. Continue reading News Wrap: Barnes & Noble Hack, DDoS Extortion Threats and More

Travelex, Other Orgs Face DDoS Threats as Extortion Campaign Rages On

Organizations worldwide – including Travelex – have been sent letters threatening to launch DDoS attacks on their network unless a $230K ransom is paid. Continue reading Travelex, Other Orgs Face DDoS Threats as Extortion Campaign Rages On

Balancing Protection with Performance to Double Down on DDoS

Combating DDoS attacks with the highest quality of mitigation means having the right platform, processes, and people in place. At Akamai, we’re recognized as a leader for DDoS mitigation solutions based on our Edge DNS, CDN edge-scrubbing, and cloud-sc… Continue reading Balancing Protection with Performance to Double Down on DDoS

Balancing Protection with Performance to Double Down on DDoS

Combating DDoS attacks with the highest quality of mitigation means having the right platform, processes, and people in place. At Akamai, we’re recognized as a leader for DDoS mitigation solutions based on our Edge DNS, CDN edge-scrubbing, and cloud-scrubbing platforms that are designed to keep your internet-facing assets, services, and critical infrastructure protected. Continue reading Balancing Protection with Performance to Double Down on DDoS

Former Medical Transcriptionist Accused of Trying to Extort Toronto Hospital Using Stolen Patient Data

Personal information of roughly 150 patients of Toronto-based St. Michael’s Hospital has been stolen in a data breach, allegedly by a former third-party employee accused of taking them while on duty. According to a letter obtained by a local news chann… Continue reading Former Medical Transcriptionist Accused of Trying to Extort Toronto Hospital Using Stolen Patient Data

Incident Response: Pay a Ransom, Go to Jail

Companies that find their files, data or networks locked by a malicious actor demanding an extortion payment now have a new worry in their incident response: The U.S. Department of Treasury. On Oct. 1, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset… Continue reading Incident Response: Pay a Ransom, Go to Jail

Las Vegas Students’ Personal Data Leaked, Post-Ransomware Attack

A researcher said he discovered an open data cache with names, grades, birthdates and more, after the Clark County School District refused to pay the ransom. Continue reading Las Vegas Students’ Personal Data Leaked, Post-Ransomware Attack