Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Scottish Parliament Repels Brute-Force Email Hackers

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 18, 2017

Hackers have been targeting the Scottish Parliament in a "brute force cyberattack" aimed at guessing users' email passwords. Security experts say it's unlikely that state-backed attackers would resort to such a blunt assault.

Locky Ransomware Returns With Two New Variants

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 18, 2017

Locky is back. After falling off the radar last year, the ransomware is once again being distributed via massive spam campaigns - run by the Necurs botnet - in the form of two new variants named Diablo and Lukitus.

Maersk Previews NotPetya Impact: Up to $300 Million

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 17, 2017

Danish shipping giant Maersk faces losses of $200 million to $300 million as a result of the NotPetya global malware outbreak. Others, including FedEx and household goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser, are also beginning to estimate NotPetya's financial impact on their business.

Rent the Latest Exploit Toolkit for $80 Per Day

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 16, 2017

For just $80 per day, would-be cybercrime entrepreneurs can subscribe to Disdain, a new exploit kit that targets now-patched flaws in browsers and plug-ins, including Flash and WebEx. Disdain's debut shows that while exploit kits may have declined, they haven't died out.

Fighting Ransomware: Is More Tech the Answer?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 10, 2017

For many organizations, fighting the growing threat of ransomware doesn't necessarily have to mean investing in new technologies, says Robert Arandjelovis of Symantec.

Fighting Against Fileless Attacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 9, 2017

About half of today's cyberattacks are malware-free and don't involve having to write any files to disk, says Dan Larson of Crowdstrike. These attacks get around conventional defenses, such as firewalls and antivirus programs, so they require new defenses, he says.

Imperative: Detect Data Breaches More Quickly

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 8, 2017

Data breach truism: So many organizations get breached, and remain breached, but don't find out until months or even years later, says Paul White of the cybersecurity firm Cyber adAPT. He offers insights on speeding reaction time by watching for clues.

WannaCry 'Accidental Hero' Denies FBI Charges

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 7, 2017

Cybersecurity researcher Marcus Hutchins will plead not guilty in federal court to charges relating to creating and selling banking malware called Kronos. Some in the security community think the FBI may have confused legitimate research activities with criminal behavior.

Admitted Russian Botnet Herder Receives 4-Year US Sentence

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 4, 2017

Maxim Senakh, who was extradited from Finland to the United States to face charges related to Ebury botnet attacks, has been sentenced to serve nearly four years in federal prison, after which he will be deported to his native Russia.

FBI Arrests Marcus Hutchins, Who Stopped WannaCry

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 4, 2017

British national Marcus Hutchins, aka "MalwareTech," has been arrested by the FBI on charges relating to the distribution of the Kronos banking Trojan. Hutchins is the "accidental hero" who singlehandedly defused the WannaCry ransomware outbreak.

Spanish Court Approves Suspected Hacker's Extradition

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 3, 2017

Spain has approved a U.S. extradition request for Russian national Stanislav Lisov, who's been charged with helping to organize and profit from a prolific banking Trojan called Neverquest. He's the latest in a long line of suspected Russian hackers to be detained while vacationing abroad.

'Real People' Don't Want Crypto, UK Home Secretary Claims

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 2, 2017

Britain's home secretary claims that "real people" don't really want unbreakable, end-to-end encryption - they just like cool features. Accordingly, she asks, why can't we just compromise and add backdoors, thus breaking crypto for everyone?

Hacker Group 31337 Dumps Data Stolen From Mandiant Analyst

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 1, 2017

FireEye has confirmed that one of its Mandiant breach investigation employee's personal laptops was breached by hackers, and corporate data dumped. The hackers say the leak is the first in a series of "Operation LeakTheAnalyst" attacks against cybersecurity researchers.

Hackers Threaten 'Game of Thrones' Episode Leaks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 1, 2017

Hackers have struck Hollywood again, claiming HBO as their latest victim. So far, some unaired programming has been leaked online, as have details relating to a forthcoming "Game of Thrones" episode - but no actual episodes.

Microsoft Battles Fancy Bear Hackers - With Lawyers

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 31, 2017

To battle Russian hackers, Microsoft has moved to strip them of their malicious infrastructure. To do so, however, the technology giant isn't hunting the attackers down. Instead, it's taking them to court. Two cybersecurity attorneys rate Microsoft's efforts.