‘Patient zero’ of global ransomware incident was warned and owned before outbreak
A Ukrainian software company at the center of an international ransomware outbreak was reportedly warned about its insufficient digital security multiple times, and new evidence shows it had been compromised by hackers before last week’s incident. M.E.Doc, a Ukrainian software firm that develops accounting software that is mandated by the country’s government, is widely considered to be the “patient zero” behind ExPetr, a unique ransomware variant that first appeared on June 27 with the capability of spreading quickly across local networks and deleting data. Cybersecurity researchers with Czech security firm ESET published evidence Tuesday that hackers were able to successfully penetrate M.E.Doc in the months preceding the major attack and had installed a series of backdoors. These implants would allow a hacker to remotely execute numerous commands and upload other malicious code. Such a backdoor may have been originally leveraged to launch ExPetr. It’s also possible that the attacker had […]
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This morning on the stage of TC Sessions: Justice, Matt Mitchell of CryptoHarlem discussed his views on the link between surveillance and minority oppression and the importance of taking a preventative approach to security and privacy. Mitchell, a specialist in digital safety and encryption, is dedicating time to creating Protect Your Org, a free, open source, tool for all organizations…