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Emsisoft Releases Solution for BTC Demanding Ransomware WannaCryFake

Emsisoft, the cybersecurity firm, has released a new free fix for WannaCryFake—the malicious bitcoin (BTC) demanding ransomware.

Data Held Hostage

Emsisoft recently announced that they are releasing a free decryption tool to fix systems and networks infected with the WannaCryFake ransomware bug.According to a report by McAfee Labs in August, ransomware attacks increased by 118% in the first three months of 2019. Ransomware is a type of malicious software, or malware, designed to deny access through encryption to a computer system or—in the case of the WannaCryFake ransomware bug—data until a ransom is paid. Ransomware typically spreads through phishing emails or by unknowingly visiting an infected website.

WannaCryFake is the next evolution of a particularly sinister ransomware bug—WannaCry worm which first began spreading across computer networks in 2017. Unlike typical ransomware, the WannaCry worm does not rely on Trojan access to a system but can travel automatically between computers without user interaction.

Specific to the WannaCryFake software, when a computer system is infected with the bug, data is encrypted then held hostage and a ransom in Bitcoin will be demanded to decrypt the files and release access to data. Emsisoft explains “According to the distributors, the price of decryption depends on how quickly you email them.”

Like all hostage situations, the terms are being set by the actors committing the exploitation and thus cannot be trusted. Emsisoft stresses that “under no circumstances should you attempt to make contact,” and to not ever pay the ransom.

Image via Shutterstock

Ransomware Gang Evil Corp Group Strikes Again with New Ransomware WastedLocker

A ransomware gang called Evil Corp Group is back in action, after having been in retirement for an undetermined period of time. The malware hacker group strikes again by developing a ransom software dubbed WastedLocker.

Who is behind Evil Corp?

Evil Corp Group is a Russian-based cybercriminal group that is led by Maksim Yakubets. The group rose to popularity in 2007 and was infamously known for targeting big US firms.

They demand million-dollar payments as ransom, and they are reputed for having stolen at least $100 million from banks and financial institutions in at least 40 countries. According to global cybersecurity expert NCC group:

“Evil Corp are selective in terms of the infrastructure they target when deploying their ransomware. Typically, they hit file servers, database services, virtual machines and cloud environments.”

The cybercriminal group rose to popularity after they developed the Dridex and Bitpaymer ransomware. From the get-go, Evil Corp Group has changed their virtual identity numerous times in order to stay undetected.

New production: WastedLocker

The newly developed malware WastedLocker aims to encrypt the files of the infected host. Though it does not have anything in common with its precedent Bitpaymer—WastedLocker has been labeled a threat by cybersecurity officials due to its connection to the notorious Evil Group.

In fact, alleged leader Yakubets and his partner-in-crime Igor Turashev have been charged in a 10-count indictment for monetary fraud, conspiracy, computer hacking, and wire fraud.

Bitcoin demanding ransomware WannaCryFake

WannaCryFake, much like its counterpart WastedLocker, is a Bitcoin (BTC) demanding ransomware. The malware operates when a computer system is infected with the bug, then data is encrypted, held hostage, and a ransom in Bitcoin is demanded in exchange for the decryption of the files. Finally, only after the ransom has been paid, the attackers will release the stolen data back to the victim.

Solutions to ransomware

Though it may be daunting, there are solutions brought up by cybersecurity firms to track down hacker gangs and put an end to their cybercriminal activities.

Emisoft, a cybersecurity firm, aims at tracking down malicious phishing and ransomware attacks. They released a free decryption tool aimed at putting an end to illegal Bitcoin mining activities.

Hacking Ransomware Group REvil Threatens to Strike Again

Previously known to be the company that hacked entertainment media firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, the cyberattack gang REvil does not appear to be giving up their devious activities any time soon.

Their new scheme once again entails ransomware but this time the demands are targeting big-shot celebrities, such as rap star Nicki Minaj, NBA superstar Lebron James, and Mariah Carey.

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

The reputed American law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks caters mainly to Hollywood celebrities. Among other well-known entertainment performers, they are the official legal representatives of known celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Elton John, Mary J. Blige, and many more.

News of the cybercriminal activities pertaining to REvil group surfaced last month. The hacking group boasted that it had previously managed to hack and extract a massive amount of encrypted data from a reputed American IP law firm, and stolen data from the US navy. They then proceeded to auction off the data that was illegally stolen during their ransomware attacks.

In fact, their criminal gains amounted to a cumulative sum of 756 gigabytes worth of documents, most of which contained sensitive information on stolen music and private information on the entertainment biz.

REvil ransomware group has previously been known to target companies such as Travelex, which guarantees the lowest transactional prices for foreign exchanges in the United States of America.

Revealing the devious schemes behind REvil

REvil is notorious for demanding popular cryptocurrency payouts such as Bitcoins, in exchange for a release of the stolen data. However, the ransomware gang has decided to switch to heists targeting Monero (XMR) payouts. These are known to be more safe, secure, and highly untraceable.

What is Monero?

Monero is a cryptocurrency that was founded in 2014. It resulted from a fork of ByteCoin. With Monero, the advantage is that account privacy and fund transactions are completely in the power of the crypto user himself.

The ransomware group has revealed future plans that include hacking President Donald Trump. Judging by the POTUS’ reaction to Bitcoin, ransomware hacking threats such as Revil’s may lead to an angry Twitter comment or another huge reaction of the POTUS.

Trump has previously been known to be quite vocal about his reservations on cryptocurrency trends, such as Bitcoin. This was evidenced in a Tweet he made in July 2019, that talked about their high volatility and thin air concept.

Ransomware Attacks Target English Football League, Data Withheld for $3.8 Million Bitcoin

The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a warning saying that football teams are at increased risk of phishing campaigns and ransomware attacks. On July 23, the agency published a 28-page report titled (The Cyber Threat to Sports Organizations) stating that ransomware is a significant threat for sports organizations.

The National Cyber Security Centre is a UK government institution that offers support and advice for the private and public sectors on how to avoid computer security threats. The institution is based in London and started its operations in 2016.

Football Teams Have Become Perfect Targets

According to the NCSC’s report, the English Football League (EFL) club has recently become a victim of cyber-attack. The hackers encrypted all security and corporate systems of the club and demanded a ransom of 400 Bitcoins value of $3.8 million in order to release the decryption key.

Since the owners of the club refused to pay the stated amount, the hackers took revenge to further encrypt the club’s end-user devices.

It is not clear what kind of attack vector used. However, the NCSC said that the initial infection was a result of either a phishing email or accessing the club’s CCTV system remotely and installing ransomware on the system.

Since all systems at the stadium were connected to one network, the infection of the attack spread quickly. It is estimated that the club lost several hundred thousand British pounds. Many servers were also affected, thus leaving the club unable to use their corporate email.

The stadium’s turnstiles and CCTV were non-operational, an incident that nearly resulted in a cancellation and postponement of fixtures.

Paul Chichester, NCSC director of operations, stated that football clubs might not view cybercrimes as a significant threat. But it remains a serious issue for the UK’s broader cybersecurity goals.

As per the report, football clubs are on a target and, therefore, they have to take this issue seriously. The report further mentioned that hackers recently attacked a prominent Premier League club. The hackers used fake emails to steal over one million pounds before someone at the club, detecting suspicious transactions, and taking action.

Hackers are casting a wider net in hopes of infecting as many individual machines as possible. According to NCSC’s warning, over 70% of UK sports organizations have experienced cybersecurity breaches in 2020. The watchdog, therefore, recommends that football clubs must allocate resources, money, and part of their time towards protecting their data to prevent such hacks.

Fears of More Hostage Situations

Sports organizations are some of the major institutions known as financially profitable and thus are becoming valuable targets for ransomware attacks. Attacks begin with an innocent email. When someone clicks the link the email, hackers quickly take over. It works like that. Computers at organizations are locked, and the only way for workers to get back their system is to pay the attackers thousands of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin.

There is no guarantee that hackers won’t do it again. Besides hospitals, local government offices, and schools, many attacks have targeted sports organizations this year. To make the matter worse, several organizations choose not to report such incidents as they want to avoid news coverage and resorting to sending payouts to attackers.

Cybersecurity Firm Kaspersky Warns of New Ransomware Devised by Notorious North Korean Ransomware Group

Multinational cybersecurity provider Kaspersky has announced that the notorious North Korean crypto criminal group, Lazarus, is planning on releasing a new ransomware.

Kaspersky Investigates

The new threat, dubbed VHD, is designated to target internal networks of companies in the economic sector. In regards to why the ransomware group often resorted to working in solo ops, Kaspersky researchers presented their hypothesis:

“We can only speculate about the reason why they are now running solo ops: maybe they find it difficult to interact with the cybercrime underworld, or maybe they felt they could no longer afford to share their profits with third parties.”

Phishing For Crypto And Sensitive Data

The infamous North Korean ransomware group Lazarus have been reported to have multiple tricks up their sleeves. In fact, according to cybersecurity Cyfirma, Lazarus is preparing a huge phishing campaign, that is meant to target at least 6 nations and over 5 million businesses and individual investors.

The report of the devious scheme was released in June. For the time being, there are no signs of the phishing campaign unfolding yet, as it appears that the North Korean ransomware group have not yet deployed the mass phishing campaign.

However, as the hacking group have kept their digital heists alive in 2020, Cyfirma thought it best to warn major companies for prevention purposes.

Lazarus’ Notoriety Precedes Them

In the past, the North Korean ransomware group, operating under “Lazarus,” have made quite an impression on cybersecurity firms, having accumulated over $571 million in stolen cryptocurrencies since 2017. Lazarus group is notorious for hitting up cryptocurrency exchanges and have kept up their act of ransoming victims for cryptocurrencies, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

2019 Digital Heist

Last year, as reported by Chainalysis, Lazarus pulled off a digital heist that amounted to $7 million in various cryptocurrencies.

The ransomware group hit up DragonEx crypto exchange, a Singapore-based money exchange. In order to pull off their crypto scam, Lazarus created a fake trading bot website that was offered to employees of the DragonEx exchange.

The North Korean criminal organization used a sophisticated phishing attack, where a real website and social media pertaining to it were linked to a fake company called “WFC Proof.” The non-existent company was said to have created Worldbit-bot, a trading robot, that was then offered to DragonEx employees.

Finally, the malicious software was installed on a computer that contained the private key of the DragonEx hot wallet, which enabled the North Korean-based group to steal cryptocurrencies from the Singapore exchange.

Lazarus Group: Anonymous or Not?

Lazarus’ malicious cyberattacks date all the way back to 2017. Though cybersecurity has not managed to completely arrest and stop the hacking group, identities associated with the North Korean hacking ring have been uncovered.

Earlier this year, two Chinese citizens by the name of Tian YinYin and Li Jiadong were identified by the US treasury for their connection with Lazarus group. They were sanctioned in March by US authorities for their alleged involvement in laundering stolen cryptocurrencies from a 2018 cyberattack against a cryptocurrency exchange.

While blockchain is still promoted as being cryptographically secured and the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies, exchanges that hold them are still prone to cyber-attacks, just as traditional markets are not immune to heists and money laundering schemes.

Korea: Training Military or Cybercriminals?

Preventing financial theft has been an ongoing issue for the longest of times.

With a series of money-related attacks leading to a subsequent UN investigation last year, there is an ongoing hypothetical circulating around the law enforcement industry that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) may be heavily involved in coordinating cyberattacks, as they have reportedly been training cybercriminals to target and launder stolen funds from financial institutions.

US Travel Firm CWT Paid $4.5 Million in Bitcoin to Get Computer System Back from Hackers

US travel management company CWT paid $4.5 million in Bitcoin to hackers who stole sensitive corporate files. CWT has a global clientele and is the fifth-largest US travel company. The firm boasts an estimate of $1.5 billion in annual revenue and claims that it represents more than a third of companies on the S&P 500 US stock index.

The Firm Had No Other Choice

According to the Reuters report, the hackers hijacked CWT’s computer system, stole sensitive corporate files, and knocked computers offline as they were demanding a ransom to be paid. The attackers used ransomware identified as Ragnar Locker that encrypts and renders computer files unusable until the corporate victims pay for access to be restored.

The company confirmed the attack but refused to comment on the details regarding what it stated was an ongoing investigation. The firm said that it temporarily shut down its IT system as a precautionary measure after suffering a cyber-security breach on July 27.

In their ransomware note left on infected CWT computers, the hackers said to have stolen two terabytes of files, including security documents, financial reports, and employees’ personal data like salary information and email addresses.

However, hackers allegedly exaggerated that they infected 30,000 computers. The company said that no traveler and customer information has been compromised.

The ensuing ransom negotiations between a CWT representative and the hackers remained publicly accessible in an online chat group, thus providing some insight into the uneasy relationship between cybercriminals and their corporate victims.

The hackers initially demanded $10 million to be paid to restore the company’s files and delete all the stolen data.

The CWT representative engaged in the negotiations said they were acting on behalf of the company’s chief financial officer. The representative mentioned that the firm had been adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak and agreed to pay $4.5 million in Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency transactions on the Public Ledger indicate that an online wallet controlled by the hackers obtained the requested payment of 414 Bitcoin on 28th July.

Rampant Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware attacks are on the rise and indicate no sign of slowing down. Despite the increased attention given to public headlines against cybercriminals, ransomware attacks have become a serious and consistent threat to businesses and private firms. Such attacks are known to cost billions of dollars every year, either in recovery costs or extorted payments.

Cybersecurity experts advise the general public to keep their data back-ups secure and to stop paying ransoms as this encourages further criminal attacks without a guarantee that the encrypted files would be restored.

Ransomware Group Strikes Again: Canon Takes a Hit

Canon recently suffered a cyber attack where approximately 10 terabytes of files, photos and data were stolen.

Maze Group Hunts for Crypto

As investigations were carried out, it was suspected by cyber support site BleepingComputer that the attack was orchestrated by Maze ransomware group. On top of the 10 TB of data and private databases that were compromised, Canon also suffered an outage on their domain image.canon. However, Maze group denied that they had anything to do with the domain’s shut down, stating that it was not part of the ransomware attack.

Canon’s site was dysfunctional for six days as a result of Maze’s cyber hack, displaying internal server errors. It only regained regular functions on August 4. That day, Canon had issued a statement addressing the ransomware attack and had said that there had been no leaks of pictures and image content.

However, after further investigations, cybersecurity help site BleepingComputer rectified the claim and said that “Canon USA was experiencing widespread system issues, affecting multiple applications, and other systems may not be available for this time.”

In exchange for not leaking the 10 TB of stolen files and image content it had seized, Maze demanded a cryptocurrency sum in return.

Canon Joins Xerox & LG as Maze Victims

This is not the first time Maze has targeted multinational corporations. Maze is reputed to have attacked huge corporations in the past, operating by stealing a target firm’s files and sensitive data. In the past, the notorious ransomware group had targeted huge multinational corporations such as Xerox and LG, among others.

If a victim declined to pay the cryptocurrency ransom it demanded, Maze would then carry out its threat to leak the stolen files. A return of the stolen information to the company in question would only be issued after crypto funds were transferred to Maze group.

Canon is investigating the situation at the time of writing and will provide further updates when available.

US Creates Cyber Fraud Task Force

With the rise of crypto and in light of Bitcoin’s recent bull run, cryptocurrency-related crimes are not uncommon. To address this ongoing issue, the US Secret Service recently created a special division, dubbed the Cyber Fraud Task Force (CFTF), that are dedicated to ending the increasing amount of money laundering activities revolving around crypto and fiat.

In order to be effective at tracking illicit online activities and to put an end to it, CFTF investigators would need to analyze a computer networks, trace IP addresses and coordinate with internet service providers to detect suspicious online activity.

Jack Daniel’s Parent Company Brown-Forman Targeted for Ransomware by Notorious REvil

Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel’s parent company and a giant powerhouse in the alcoholic industry, recently suffered a ransomware data breach originating from REvil.

REvil ransomware gang strikes again

One of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies in the world and the official mother company of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, Brown-Forman disclosed that they had suffered from a cyber-attack in which some sensitive information, including but not restricted to employee data, had been stolen.

An anonymous message was sent to Bloomberg to confirm the privacy branch and the compromising of Brown-Forman’s internal servers. Speaking about the ransomware attack, Brown-Forman said that they had everything under control and that they were working with law enforcement to resolve the issue. The company also added, “There are no active negotiations.”

Who is REvil?

This is definitely not the first rodeo for REvil ransomware group. The cybercrime operation, also known under the pseudonym Sodinokibi, rose to fame in the digital world with their criminal activities. It first made its appearance in early 2019, and the file blocking virus, which was closely monitored by cybersecurity giant McAfee, released by the cybercriminals would enable REvil hackers to seize private information.

Often, they would demand payment from the targeted company. In exchange for unlocking the files and delivering the sensitive data safely back to its owner, REvil ransomware group would demand a hefty cryptocurrency sum. Should the victimized company fail to comply with their demands, REvil hackers would then threaten to release the stolen confidential files on websites and on the internet, for all to see and use to their own advantage.

Come and get it – REvil claims to have stolen data

Though Brown-Forman denied that there were any active negotiations currently set in motion, hackers have allegedly backed their ransom demands by stating that they possessed 1 terabyte of confidential data. Revil ransomware gang threatened to share the sensitive information and affirmed that the company-sensitive secrets would be available for all to see if ransom was not delivered.

Sodinokibi group also shared screenshots of sensitives file names to back their claims. The ransomware group has been notorious for previously hitting big names such as Mariah Carey, rap star Nicki Minaj, and NBA superstar Lebron James to attain their ransom objectives. Revil also possesses a dedicated website for leaks to post and auction off stolen data.

Blockchain against cybercrime

With cybercrime on the rise and hackers capitalizing on COVID-19 to conduct their illicit activities online, numerous Asian countries have been reported to have increased the adoption of blockchain for security purposes. Schools, companies, and traditional institutions have all been victims of hackers’ deviant behavior at some time or another. With blockchain adoption, Asian entities hope that their institutions would be better equipped to battle scams.

Advocating for blockchain technology for global digital advancement is the Senior Manager of PwC Consulting, Tomohiro Maruyama. The PwC manager said when speaking with Nikkei Asian Review:

“Internet piracy has posed a major challenge for companies as they look to digitize operations. Blockchain emerged as a solution for fighting digital counterfeits, pushing businesses to adopt the technology.”

Maruyama thinks that when COVID-19 finally passes, the world will change on a global scale, with more companies converting to blockchain technology and integrating it into their business for its numerous benefits.

Ransomware Attack Directed Towards University of California Generated 118 Bitcoin

The University of California, San Francisco’s plans to further COVID-19 vaccine research were disrupted by a ransomware attack on the school’s servers.

Ransomware Operation Hits US, Seeks $3 Million

School files, transcripts, employee, and student-related data were reported to have been stolen during the hack. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) was working on a vaccine for COVID-19 when several of its school servers were shut down and locked by hackers.

The ransomware group responsible for the network freeze appears to be Netwalker, a hacking ring that has been fairly active since last fall. The hacking operation demanded a ransom of $3 million in exchange for releasing the digital keys and set a deadline of “2 days, 23 hours, and 0 minutes” for the transfer of digital assets. It also appointed a representative whose purpose was to coordinate all negotiations and discussions with UCSF. The hacker’s speaker was dubbed “Operator.”

Negotiations to Drive Down Ransom

Though UCSF has not been able to confirm the origin of the attackers, the messages that were exchanged between the university’s negotiator and Operator were riddled with grammatical tics that are commonly observed among native Russian speakers. One thing that seemed like a fair bet was that the hackers were not in US jurisdiction at the time of the act.

Though the FBI usually handles ransomware attacks on US soil, UCSF took matters into their own hands for this case. UCSF negotiator demanded that Operator give the university a bit more time to come up with the sum that they demanded. The professional also negotiated for a lower price, tugging on Operator’s emotional chords and stating that due to the ongoing COVID-19 research that the university was engaged in, it had nowhere near the funds that Operator demanded.

The exchange took approximately six days, with ransom demands fluctuating from $390k to $780k and so on. UCSF negotiator relentlessly attempted to drive down the ransom price, to no avail. Finally, resorting to empathy, the negotiator said to Operator, as disclosed by Bloomberg, “I haven’t slept in a couple of days because I’m trying to figure this out for you. I am being viewed as a failure by everyone here and this is all my fault this is happening.”

Whether or not this was a strategy employed by the negotiator, it somehow worked, as Operator responded, “My friend, your team needs to understand this is not your failure. Every device on the internet is vulnerable.”

BTC Funds for Netwalker

The negotiator and Operator finally agreed on a price, that was worth $1.14 million. This translates to approximately 118 Bitcoin at the time of writing. The university representative then demanded a few days to gather the digital assets. The deal that was struck entailed that the Netwalker ransomware group would transfer all the data it stole from the university’s network to UCSF, in exchange for the funds. The attackers also had to provide evidence that they had deleted the copies from their own servers, a task that required attentive decryption.

UCSF was able to link the hackers to Netwalker, due to the cybercriminals’ dark web blog. Netwalker hacking operation also possessed its own malware, available for leasing to any future attackers to use. In March, they also posted a dark web ad to recruit new hackers to their team. The posting read: “Russian-speaking network intruders—not spammers—with a preference for immediate, consistent work.”

Final Deal Struck Between UCSF & Operator

Through down-to-earth conversation, an appeal to empathy and compliments —a common negotiation strategy that seasoned negotiators stand by —UCSF negotiator was able to strike a deal to recover at least 20 gigabytes of stolen files that attackers had gained from their hack from the university network. This translated to encrypted data from at least seven university servers.

Japanese University Leverages Blockchain to Protect Servers

Ransomware attacks appear to be on the surge, especially during the pandemic.

Companies are certainly not the only ones concerned with cyber attacks. In fact, schools have also been increasingly targeted for encrypted data and transcript forgery. Recently, Japan came up with a system called CloudClerts that leveraged blockchain technology to provide universities with a more secure way of distributing academic transcripts and expected graduation diplomas.Blockchain is increasingly perceived by many firms and institutions as a way to combat digital counterfeits and conduct business more efficiently.

Uber’s Former Security Chief Charged for Using $100K Bitcoin Hush Payment to Hide Data Breach

Former Chief Security Officer at Uber, Joseph Sullivan, has been charged with allegedly paying $100K in Bitcoin to hackers to cover up a company data breach.

Uber suffers a large-scale data breach

The data breach that happened in 2016 and that targeted Uber resulted in a huge loss of data. The hackers seized information from millions of Uber users and drivers. Furthermore, in order to extort Bitcoin payments, hackers messaged Sullivan privately, demanding a ransom in exchange for silence.

The hackers told Sullivan that they had successfully hacked an Uber database that contained personal identifying information of approximately 75 million Uber users and drivers. In the official complaint filed to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Sullivan was charged with purposely covering up the data breach and misleading the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

To cover up the massive data breach suffered by Uber, Sullivan transferred $100,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) as a hush payment to the hackers. The act was accomplished through a bug bounty program, that consisted of a regulated network typically used to pay hired hackers whose objective was to find company network bugs and fix the company’s security issues.

Speaking up on the subject matter, US Attorney Anderson stated:

“Silicon Valley is not the Wild West. We expect good corporate citizenship. We will not tolerate corporate cover-ups. We will not tolerate illegal hush money payments.”

Sullivan commits more than one offense

In the complaint filed to the DOJ, it depicted how Sullivan played an active role in covering up holes pertaining to Uber’s cybersecurity. He had dealt with the FTC’s inquiries directly. Uber had initially been hacked in 2014. When the FTC demanded responses to aid its investigation, Sullivan was designated as Uber’s responder and swore to provide truthful testimony regarding the cybersecurity breach.

Shortly after testifying in front of the FTC, Sullivan received an email in November 2016 that notified him that Uber had once again been breached. Uber confirmed the breach with him. However, this time, rather than reporting the 2016 breach directly to US investigators, Sullivan opted for a hush payment of $100,000 in BTC, funneling the funds to the hackers through the bug bounty program in exchange for their silence.

In addition to paying off the hackers, Sullivan made them sign non-disclosure agreements. In the enclosed document, it falsely detailed that the hackers did not steal any data from Uber.

Later, upon further investigation, the identities of two of the hackers were revealed.

The FBI and US Attorney Anderson have announced that the former Chief Security Officer for Uber is now charged in federal court for obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony pertaining to the 2016 hack of Uber.

As for the two hackers whose identities were uncovered, they are currently awaiting sentencing, and have pled guilty to charges of computer fraud conspiracy.

Cybercrime on the rise, schools targeted

As business is increasingly being conducted online and companies have sought out solutions to enhance their online presence, cybercrime has been on the rise.

Recently, the University of California suffered from a ransomware attack that demanded 118 in Bitcoin. The prize was originally set higher, but after a week-long negotiation between the hacking operation and the university’s negotiator, an agreement was reached.