One week ago a global cyberattack Attack.Ransom dubbed “ unprecedented ” by Europol began infecting an estimated 200,000 of the world ’ s computers , starting a seven-day countdown to the destruction of data if victims did not pay a ransom Attack.Ransom . On Friday , those countdowns begin reaching zero . But as of lunchtime the attackers had claimed only about $ 92,000 ( €82,183 ) in payments Attack.Ransom from their widespread ransom demands Attack.Ransom , according to Elliptic Enterprises Ltd , a UK-based company that tracks illicit use of bitcoin . The company calculates the total based on payments tracked to bitcoin addresses specified in the ransom demands Attack.Ransom . The ransomware , called WannaCry , began infecting users on May 12th and gave them 72 hours to pay Attack.Ransom $ 300 in bitcoin or pay Attack.Ransom twice as much . Refusal to pay Attack.Ransom after seven days was promised to result in the permanent loss of data via irrevocable encryption . With affected institutions including the Health Service Executive ( which said it prevented the ransomware from activating ) , the National Health Service in the UK , FedEx and PetroChina , few initially paid up Attack.Ransom , leading to speculation that organisations were taking their chances on fixing their corrupt machines before the ransom Attack.Ransom forced a mass deletion of critical data . A week later , experts agree the financial gains of the hackers remain astonishingly low . “ With over 200,000 machines affected , the figure is lower than expected , ” said Jamie Akhtar , co-founder of the London-based security software firm CyberSmart . “ If even 1 per cent paid the ransom Attack.Ransom that would be $ 600k. ” Mr Akhtar said experts may never know how much larger this figure would have been if a so-called kill switch had not been accidentally triggered by a cyber security researcher , who registered an internet domain that acted as a disabling tool for the worm ’ s propagation . While the world ’ s law enforcement is pointing its resources at trying to identify the culprits , Tom Robinson , chief operating officer and co-founder of Elliptic Enterprises , says it ’ s unlikely the money taken from victims will be taken from the digital bitcoin wallets they ’ re being anonymously held in . “ Given the amount of scrutiny this has come under , I would be surprised if they moved it anytime soon , ” he said . “ I just don ’ t think the risk is worth the $ 90,000 they ’ ve raised so far. ” Mr Akhtar agrees but doesn ’ t think the criminals have given up hope while machines infected later still have time ticking on their ransom Attack.Ransom countdown . “ It seems like they are still actively trying to bring funds in , ” he said , noting a Twitter post from Symantec on Thursday , which seemed to show fresh messaging from the attackers promising to hold their end of the decryption bargain if victims paid up Attack.Ransom . Mr Akhtar believes the best thing the perpetrators can do to hide from authorities is “ destroy any evidence and abandon the bitcoin wallets ” . Of course , the hack may have nothing to do with money at all . Any movement of funds from a bitcoin wallet would act as a valuable clue for law enforcement as to who is behind the attack . Preliminary finger-pointing has already targeted groups with suspected links to the North Korean regime , but clues are still few are far between . – ( Bloomberg )

Researchers found they were able to infect robots with ransomware ; in the real world , such attacks could be highly damaging to businesses if robotic security is n't addressed . Ransomware has long been a headache for PC and smartphone users , but in the future , it could be robots that stop working unless a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . Researchers at security company IOActive have shown how they managed to hack the humanoid NAO robot made by Softbank and infect one with custom-built ransomware . The researchers said the same attack would work on the Pepper robot too . After the infection , the robot is shown insulting its audience and demanding Attack.Ransom to be 'fed ' bitcoin cryptocurrency in order to restore systems back to normal . While a tiny robot making threats might initially seem amusing -- if a little creepy -- the proof-of-concept attack demonstrates the risks associated with a lack of security in robots and how organisations that employ robots could suddenly see parts of their business grind to a halt should they become a victim of ransomware . `` In order to get a business owner to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to a hacker , you could make robots stop working . And , because the robots are directly tied to production and services , when they stop working they 'll cause a financial problem for the owner , losing money every second they 're not working , '' Cesar Cerrudo , CTO at IOActive Labs , told ZDNet . Taking what was learned in previous studies into the security vulnerabilities of robots , researchers were able to inject and run code in Pepper and NAO robots and take complete control of the systems , giving them the option to shut the robot down or modify its actions . The researchers said it was possible for an attacker with access to the Wi-Fi network the robot is running on to inject malicious code into the machine . `` The attack can come from a computer or other device that is connected to internet , so a computer gets hacked , and from there , the robot can be hacked since it 's in the same network as the hacked computer , '' said Cerrudo , who conducted the research alongside Lucas Apa , Senior Security Consultant at IOActive . Unlike computers , robots do n't yet store vast amounts of valuable information that the user might be willing to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to retrieve . But , as companies often do n't have backups to restore systems from , if a robot becomes infected with ransomware , it 's almost impossible for the user to restore it to normal by themselves . If the alternative for a victim of robot ransomware is waiting for a technician to come to fix the robot -- or even losing access it to weeks if it needs to be returned to the manufacturer -- a business owner might view giving into the ransom demand Attack.Ransom as a lesser evil . `` If it 's one robot then it could take less time , but if there are dozens or more , every second they are n't working , the business is losing money . Keeping this in mind , shipping lots of robots takes a lot of time , so the financial impact is bigger when you have a computer compromised with ransomware , '' said Cerrudo . While the robot ransomware infections have been done for the purposes of research -- and presented at the 2018 Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit in Cancun , Mexico -- IOActive warn that if security in robotics is n't properly addressed now , there could be big risks in the near future . `` While we do n't see robots every day , they 're going mainstream soon , businesses worldwide are deploying robots for different services . If we do n't start making robots secure now , if more get out there which are easily hacked , there are very serious consequences , '' said Cerrudo . As with security vulnerabilities the Internet of Things and other products , the solution to this issue is for robotics manufacturers to think about cybersecurity at every step of the manufacturing process from day one . IOActive informed Softbank about the research in January but Cerrudo said : `` We do n't know if they [ Softbank ] are going to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issues and when , or even if they can fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issues with the current design . '' Responding to the IOActive research , a Softbank spokesperson told ZDNet : `` We will continue to improve our security measures on Pepper , so we can counter any risks we may face . ''

Researchers found they were able to infect robots with ransomware ; in the real world , such attacks could be highly damaging to businesses if robotic security is n't addressed . Ransomware has long been a headache for PC and smartphone users , but in the future , it could be robots that stop working unless a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . Researchers at security company IOActive have shown how they managed to hack the humanoid NAO robot made by Softbank and infect one with custom-built ransomware . The researchers said the same attack would work on the Pepper robot too . After the infection , the robot is shown insulting its audience and demanding Attack.Ransom to be 'fed ' bitcoin cryptocurrency in order to restore systems back to normal . While a tiny robot making threats might initially seem amusing -- if a little creepy -- the proof-of-concept attack demonstrates the risks associated with a lack of security in robots and how organisations that employ robots could suddenly see parts of their business grind to a halt should they become a victim of ransomware . `` In order to get a business owner to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to a hacker , you could make robots stop working . And , because the robots are directly tied to production and services , when they stop working they 'll cause a financial problem for the owner , losing money every second they 're not working , '' Cesar Cerrudo , CTO at IOActive Labs , told ZDNet . Taking what was learned in previous studies into the security vulnerabilities of robots , researchers were able to inject and run code in Pepper and NAO robots and take complete control of the systems , giving them the option to shut the robot down or modify its actions . The researchers said it was possible for an attacker with access to the Wi-Fi network the robot is running on to inject malicious code into the machine . `` The attack can come from a computer or other device that is connected to internet , so a computer gets hacked , and from there , the robot can be hacked since it 's in the same network as the hacked computer , '' said Cerrudo , who conducted the research alongside Lucas Apa , Senior Security Consultant at IOActive . Unlike computers , robots do n't yet store vast amounts of valuable information that the user might be willing to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to retrieve . But , as companies often do n't have backups to restore systems from , if a robot becomes infected with ransomware , it 's almost impossible for the user to restore it to normal by themselves . If the alternative for a victim of robot ransomware is waiting for a technician to come to fix the robot -- or even losing access it to weeks if it needs to be returned to the manufacturer -- a business owner might view giving into the ransom demand Attack.Ransom as a lesser evil . `` If it 's one robot then it could take less time , but if there are dozens or more , every second they are n't working , the business is losing money . Keeping this in mind , shipping lots of robots takes a lot of time , so the financial impact is bigger when you have a computer compromised with ransomware , '' said Cerrudo . While the robot ransomware infections have been done for the purposes of research -- and presented at the 2018 Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit in Cancun , Mexico -- IOActive warn that if security in robotics is n't properly addressed now , there could be big risks in the near future . `` While we do n't see robots every day , they 're going mainstream soon , businesses worldwide are deploying robots for different services . If we do n't start making robots secure now , if more get out there which are easily hacked , there are very serious consequences , '' said Cerrudo . As with security vulnerabilities the Internet of Things and other products , the solution to this issue is for robotics manufacturers to think about cybersecurity at every step of the manufacturing process from day one . IOActive informed Softbank about the research in January but Cerrudo said : `` We do n't know if they [ Softbank ] are going to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issues and when , or even if they can fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issues with the current design . '' Responding to the IOActive research , a Softbank spokesperson told ZDNet : `` We will continue to improve our security measures on Pepper , so we can counter any risks we may face . ''

Victims of one the newest - and most unusual - families of ransomware could now be able to recover their files without giving into the demands Attack.Ransom of criminals because decryption tools have been released for free . A GandCrab ransomware decryption tool has been released as part of the No More Ransom initiative , following a combined operation by Bitdefender , the Romanian Police , the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism ( DIICOT ) and Europol . GandGrab first appeared in January and has already claimed over 53,000 victims around the world , making it what Europol describe as `` one of the most aggressive forms of ransomware so far this year '' costing Attack.Ransom each victim anything from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand . This variant of the file-locking malware is unusual in a number of ways : not only is it spread via the use of exploit kits - a tactic usually reserved for the likes of trojans and cryptocurrency miners - it is also the first form of ransomware to ask for payments Attack.Ransom in Dash . Most other forms of ransomware demand the ransom Attack.Ransom be paid Attack.Ransom in bitcoin or Monero . The spread of GandGrab has also been helped along by a cybercrime-as-a-service scheme which offers a toolkit for deploying the ransomware in exchange for wannabee crooks giving the original authors a cut of their profits . It 's unknown which specific cybercriminal operation is behind GandGrab . However , the ransomware is advertised on Russian hacking forums , with the authors explicitly instructing those who become a part of the partnership scheme not to target Russia or any other country in the Commonwealth of Independent States of former Soviet republics . But regardless of who might be distributing GandCrab , now victims do n't need to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to those looking to cash in on it , because the decryption tool is available for free from the No More Ransom portal and from Bitdefender . `` Ransomware has become a billion-dollar cash cow for malware authors , and GandCrab is one of the highest bidders , '' said Catalin Cosoi , senior director of the investigation and forensics unit at Bitdefender . In order to help prevent falling victim to ransomware , Bitdefender recommends regularly back-up sensitive data and to be wary of suspicious email attachments and malicious links . Launched in 2016 , the No More Ransom Attack.Ransom scheme brings law enforcement and private industry together in the fight against cybercrime and has helped thousands of ransomware victims retrieve their encrypted files without lining the pockets of crooks . The portal is available in 29 languages and since its launch has has received over 1.6 million visitors from a total of 180 countries . The release of GandCrab decryption tools comes shortly after an operation involving Europol , the Belgian National Police and Kaspersky Lab led to the release of free decryption tools for Cryakl ransomware .

( TNS ) — Last month , employees at the Colorado Department of Transportation were greeted by a message on their computer screens similar to this : “ All your files are encrypted with RSA-2048 encryption . … It ’ s not possible to recover your files without private key . … You must send Attack.Ransom us 0.7 BitCoin for each affected PC or 3 BitCoins to receive ALL Private Keys for ALL affected PC ’ s. ” CDOT isn’t paying Attack.Ransom , but others have . In fact , so-called ransomware has become one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in the U.S. and internationally , with the FBI estimating total payments Attack.Ransom are nearing $ 1 billion . Hackers use ransomware to encrypt computer files , making them unreadable without a secret key , and then demand digital currency Attack.Ransom like bitcoin if victims want the files back — and many victims are falling for that promise . Ransomware infects more than 100,000 computers around the world every day and payments Attack.Ransom are approaching $ 1 billion , said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein during the October 2017 Cambridge Cyber Summit , citing FBI statistics . A study by researchers at Google , Chainalysis , University of California San Diego and NYU Tandon School of Engineering estimated that from 2016 to mid 2017 , victims paid Attack.Ransom $ 25 million in ransom Attack.Ransom to get files back . And one out of five businesses that do pay the ransom Attack.Ransom don ’ t get their data back , according to 2016 report by Kaspersky Labs . Last spring , the Erie County Medical Center in New York was attacked Attack.Ransom by SamSam due to a misconfigured web server , according to The Buffalo News . Because it had backed up its files , the hospital decided not to pay Attack.Ransom the estimated $ 44,000 ransom Attack.Ransom . It took six weeks to get back to normal at a recovery cost of nearly $ 10 million . More recently in January , the new SamSam variant sneaked Attack.Ransom into Indiana hospital Hancock Health , which decided to pay Attack.Ransom 4 bitcoin , or about $ 55,000 , in ransom Attack.Ransom . Attackers gained entry by using a vendor ’ s username and password on a Thursday night . The hospital was back online by Monday morning . Colorado security officials are still investigating the CDOT ransomware attack Attack.Ransom that took 2,000 employee computers offline for more than a week . They don ’ t plan to pay the ransom Attack.Ransom but offered few details about the attack Attack.Ransom other than confirming it was a variant of the SamSam ransomware . Security researchers with Cisco ’ s Talos , which shared the SamSam message with The Denver Post , reported in January that the new SamSam variant had so far collected 30.4 bitcoin , or about $ 325,217 . The reality is that people need to be smarter about computer security . That means patching software , using anti-malware software , and not sharing passwords and accounts . And not opening files , emails or links from unfamiliar sources — and sometimes familiar sources . Webroot doesn ’ t have an official stance on whether to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to get files back , but Dufour says it ’ s a personal decision . Cybersecurity companies like Webroot can advise whether the hacker has a reputation for restoring files after payment is received Attack.Ransom . “ Paying a ransom Attack.Ransom to a cybercriminal is an incredibly personal decision . It ’ s easy to say not to negotiate with criminals when it ’ s not your family photos or business data that you ’ ll never see again . Unfortunately , if you want your data back , paying the ransom Attack.Ransom is often the only option , ” Dufour said . “ However , it ’ s important to know that there are some strains of ransomware that have coding and encryption errors . For these cases , even paying the ransom Attack.Ransom won ’ t decrypt your data . I recommend checking with a computer security expert before paying any ransom Attack.Ransom . ”

Nearly a week after it became the target of one of the largest ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom to date , the City of Atlanta has made progress toward recovery , but it is still far from business as usual . Hackers encrypted many of the city government 's vital data and computer systems . The ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , which Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms characterized as `` a hostage situation , '' forced the city to shut down municipal courts and even prevented residents from paying bills online . The city has been unable to issue warrants , and in many cases city employees have had to fill out forms and reports by hand . The hackers demanded Attack.Ransom that officials pay a ransom Attack.Ransom of US $ 51,000 to be sent to a bitcoin wallet . Threat researchers from Dell-owned Secureworks , which is based in Atlanta , have been working to help the city recover from the attack . The security firm identified the assailants as the SamSam hacking group , The New York Times reported on Thursday . That organization has been known for similar ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom ; it typically makes ransom demands Attack.Ransom of $ 50,000 or more , usually payable only with bitcoin . Secureworks has been working with the city 's incident response team as well as the FBI , the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service . In addition , a number of independent experts , including researchers from Georgia Tech , have been called in to determine how the attack occurred and help strategize to prevent another such attack . As of Thursday , the city 's Department of Information Management , which first discovered the attack on March 21 , said that it had found no evidence that customer or employee data was compromised Attack.Databreach . It nevertheless encouraged everyone to take precautionary measures , including the monitoring of personal accounts and protecting personal information .

SOUTH BEND — A local physicians network was the focus of a recent cyberattack that released ransomware into its network . According to a news release from Allied Physicians of Michiana CEO Shery Roussarie , the company became aware of the cyberattack on Thursday afternoon and immediately took steps to shut down the network in order to protect personal and protected health information of patients . The company restored its data in a secure format without significant disruption to patients , but an investigation is ongoing to confirm that personal or protected health information wasn ’ t compromised Attack.Databreach . The type of ransomware , known as SamSam , has been used in other attacks to coerce businesses , municipalities and individuals to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom in order to unlock files held hostage by the infection . In March , the city of Atlanta was attacked Attack.Ransom by SamSam ransomware that crippled its court system , prevented water bill payments and forced city employees to file paper reports . “ The security of our patients ’ personal and protected health information is foremost in our mind ” Roussarie said in the news release . “ While we make every effort to keep ahead of these types of cyberattacks , we have nevertheless taken additional steps to minimize any such future attack of the type experienced last week. ” Allied Physicians would not say whether or not it has paid a ransom Attack.Ransom , or what amount was demanded Attack.Ransom by the SamSam hackers , but that it plans to work with “ all relevant regulatory agencies , including the FBI , to thoroughly define the scope of the incident . ”

Officials at a medical practice in Blue Springs say they are taking steps to strengthen privacy protections after a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom affected nearly 45,000 patients . Blue Springs Family Care discovered in May that hackers had installed malware and ransomware encryption programs on its computer system , giving them full access Attack.Databreach to patient records . Ransomware is a kind of malware that locks up a computer . The attackers typically demand a ransom Attack.Ransom , often in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies , as a condition of unlocking the computer and allowing access to the system . Melanie Peterson , Blue Springs Family Care ’ s privacy officer , says the medical practice did not pay a ransom Attack.Ransom . Rather , it was able to use backups to regain computer access . In a letter to patients , Blue Springs Family Care said it had no evidence patients ’ information had been used by unauthorized individuals . But it said it had taken steps to strengthen its defenses against similar attacks in the future . Peterson says the family medical practice has essentially rebuilt its computer system from scratch “ to make sure that no traces of any kind of virus were left in the system. ” The number of affected patients was as large as it was because the medical practice is required to keep medical records going back 10 years . Peterson says both the FBI and Blue Springs Police Department were notified of the attack . So far , the hackers have not been identified , she says . Blue Springs Family Care ’ s computer vendor discovered the ransomware attack Attack.Ransom on May 12 . In its letter to patients , Blue Springs Family Care said it hired a forensic IT company to help quarantine the affected systems and to install software to monitor whether any unauthorized person was accessing the system . The attack on Blue Springs Family Care was not an anomaly . Health care businesses in particular have been targeted by ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom . According to Beazly , a cybersecurity insurance company , 45 percent of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom in 2017 targeted the health care industry . Financial services , which accounted for 12 percent of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , were a distant second . Last month , Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville , Missouri , reported a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom had briefly cut off access to its electronic health record system on July 9 . Hospital officials said there was no indication patient data was accessed Attack.Databreach . Cass Regional was just the latest of many Missouri health care institutions targeted in the last few months by cyber-attackers . Others include Children ’ s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City , Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital in St. Peters and John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff . In Kansas , the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas , the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services , Atchison Hospital Association and a private medical practice in McPherson have all been hit with cyberattacks since March . “ If you think about what ’ s in a health or medical record , there ’ s a lot of information that could be used to create or falsify documents on an individual , ” says Madeline Allen , an assistant vice president in the cybertech practice at Lockton Companies , a Kansas City-based insurance broker . “ So think about your medical record that contains not only your health information but also your name and address , your social security number , your date of birth , oftentimes a driver ’ s license number . “ All of those things can be used to impersonate you , whether it be to open a line of credit , apply for a loan , file a tax return – all of those things . Pretty much everything you need would be found in your health record , '' Allen says . `` If you can get a full health record on someone , it ’ s pretty valuable information to the bad guys as they ’ re looking to monetize that information. ” For health care institutions , Allen says , it ’ s not so much a question of whether they will be attacked as when . As such , she says , apart from instituting technical measures , the most important thing they can do to ward off cyberattacks is to educate their employees . “ Let them know that people are constantly trying to attack from all angles and the attacks are pretty sophisticated , ” she says . “ It ’ s very easy to click on a link thinking it ’ s legitimate or respond to an email that looks legitimate when in fact it ’ s not . So I think the education of employees and staff is perhaps the biggest step that health care facilities can take . ”

A group of hackers are allegedly threatening to remotely wipe millions of iPhones and iCloud accounts , unless Apple agrees to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom by April 7th . As Motherboard reports , the hackers – who are calling themselves the “ Turkish Crime Family ” – are demanding Attack.Ransom Apple pay a ransom Attack.Ransom of $ 75,000 ( in either the Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptocurrencies ) , or hand over $ 100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards . Motherboard ‘ s Joseph Cox reports that one of the hackers shared screenshots of emails that had allegedly been exchanged with Apple , including one where a member of Apple ’ s security team asked if the group would be willing to share a sample of the stolen data . If emails shared by the hackers are legitimate , then it appears that Apple ’ s security team also requested that a YouTube video be removed of an unnamed member of the gang using stolen credentials to access an elderly woman ’ s iCloud account and view photos that had previously been backed up online . The alleged emails from Apple go on to underline that the technology firm will “ not reward cyber criminals for breaking the law ” . What we don ’ t know is whether the email exchanges between the hackers and Apple are real or faked , and – indeed – whether the so-called “ Turkish Crime Gang ” really has access Attack.Databreach to a large number of Apple users ’ credentials . Other than the video of the elderly woman ’ s iCloud account being broken into , there has been no evidence shared with the media to suggest that the hackers ’ claims of having gained access Attack.Databreach to a large database of Apple usernames and passwords are legitimate . However , if it ’ s true that the hackers are attempting to engage with the media in an attempt to increase their chances of a substantial payout then that would be in line with an increasingly common technique deployed by extortionists . For instance , we have discussed before how an individual hacker or hacking group known as The Dark Overlord has targeted investment banks – stealing internal documents and bringing them to the public ’ s attention in an attempt to extort more money Attack.Ransom . In another extortion Attack.Ransom attempt , The Dark Overlord stole Attack.Databreach hundreds of gigabytes of files from the Gorilla Glue adhesive company , and attempted to increase their chances of crowbarring more money out of corporate victims by sharing details with security industry media . For the record , when The Dark Overlord contacted me to help them blackmail Attack.Ransom companies , I declined . I believe that companies should do everything in their power to protect their customers and prevent criminals from profiting from extortion Attack.Ransom . We simply don ’ t know the truth of the Turkish Crime Family ’ s claims , and whether Apple users are at risk . But I do hope that the media stories will help remind Apple users of the importance of using a strong , unique password to secure their account and enable two-factor authentication to make their accounts harder to break into .

A group of hackers are allegedly threatening to remotely wipe millions of iPhones and iCloud accounts , unless Apple agrees to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom by April 7th . As Motherboard reports , the hackers – who are calling themselves the “ Turkish Crime Family ” – are demanding Attack.Ransom Apple pay a ransom Attack.Ransom of $ 75,000 ( in either the Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptocurrencies ) , or hand over $ 100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards . Motherboard ‘ s Joseph Cox reports that one of the hackers shared screenshots of emails that had allegedly been exchanged with Apple , including one where a member of Apple ’ s security team asked if the group would be willing to share a sample of the stolen data . If emails shared by the hackers are legitimate , then it appears that Apple ’ s security team also requested that a YouTube video be removed of an unnamed member of the gang using stolen credentials to access an elderly woman ’ s iCloud account and view photos that had previously been backed up online . The alleged emails from Apple go on to underline that the technology firm will “ not reward cyber criminals for breaking the law ” . What we don ’ t know is whether the email exchanges between the hackers and Apple are real or faked , and – indeed – whether the so-called “ Turkish Crime Gang ” really has access Attack.Databreach to a large number of Apple users ’ credentials . Other than the video of the elderly woman ’ s iCloud account being broken into , there has been no evidence shared with the media to suggest that the hackers ’ claims of having gained access Attack.Databreach to a large database of Apple usernames and passwords are legitimate . However , if it ’ s true that the hackers are attempting to engage with the media in an attempt to increase their chances of a substantial payout then that would be in line with an increasingly common technique deployed by extortionists . For instance , we have discussed before how an individual hacker or hacking group known as The Dark Overlord has targeted investment banks – stealing internal documents and bringing them to the public ’ s attention in an attempt to extort more money Attack.Ransom . In another extortion Attack.Ransom attempt , The Dark Overlord stole Attack.Databreach hundreds of gigabytes of files from the Gorilla Glue adhesive company , and attempted to increase their chances of crowbarring more money out of corporate victims by sharing details with security industry media . For the record , when The Dark Overlord contacted me to help them blackmail Attack.Ransom companies , I declined . I believe that companies should do everything in their power to protect their customers and prevent criminals from profiting from extortion Attack.Ransom . We simply don ’ t know the truth of the Turkish Crime Family ’ s claims , and whether Apple users are at risk . But I do hope that the media stories will help remind Apple users of the importance of using a strong , unique password to secure their account and enable two-factor authentication to make their accounts harder to break into .

In the wake of a weekend cyber attack , ECMC officials say the hospital ’ s IT staff discovered the virus and shut down the hospital ’ s computer network , before it could infect their files . ECMC spokesman Peter Cutler said , State Police and the FBI are investigating . “ We do know that a virus was launched into our system and the good news , again , is that we reacted to it immediately. ” With the medical center ’ s computer network still offline , ECMC is conducting business the old fashioned way , on paper—no website , no email—and Cutler says they don ’ t believe patient files were compromised Attack.Databreach in any way . “ Through the assessments that we have been running , we have seen no indication that there has been a compromise Attack.Databreach of patient health information. ” Investigators would not say how hackers attacked ECMC ’ s computers , but authorities in the field of cyber security say , this attempted intrusion has all the hallmarks of ransomware . University at Buffalo cyber security expert Arun Vishwanath says ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom have grown exponentially in the last two years , and likens them to Internet extortion Attack.Ransom . “ They are very successful , and so that is why we are seeing an exponential growth in ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom . We are talking about somewhere between 5,000 attacks per day that are reported–let alone the ones that are not even reported. ” Vishwanath says ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are big reward low risk ventures , since the hackers are usually from other countries , and rarely get caught . Unwitting victims download an infected attachment from an email and the virus spreads quickly . “ The moment you click on the malware , this malware basically locks down your computer , and all the files in it , and any file that is connected to any other computer that you are connected to . So this can spread through your network in minutes. ” The hacker then demands Attack.Ransom the target pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to get their files unencrypted , and in just about every ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , the hackers cover their tracks by demanding payment Attack.Ransom in bitcoin–a virtual currency that is hard , if not impossible to trace . Once the ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , the hackers send their victim an electronic key to unlock their encrypted files , but if the payment is not made within a certain time frame the hacked files are lost forever .

A hacker ( or hacker group ) known as The Dark Overlord ( TDO ) has leaked Attack.Databreach the first ten episodes of season 5 of the `` Orange Is The New Black '' show after two failed blackmail Attack.Ransom attempts , against Larson Studios and Netflix . TDO is one of the most well-known figures in today 's dwindling hacker landscape . He first appeared on the scene in late 2015 and made a name for himself by hacking Attack.Databreach healthcare organizations , stealing Attack.Databreach their data , and trying to extract ransoms Attack.Ransom from victims by threatening to release sensitive data to the public . The hacker 's online presence shrunk in the past few months , as many hoped he called it quits and moved on to other activities . Last night , at around 22:00 UTC ( 17:00 ET ) , your reporter noticed the hacker posting links on his Twitter profile that linked to a Pastebin page , GitHub profile , and a Pirate Bay torrent sharing episode 1 of season 5 of Netflix 's `` Orange Is The New Black '' show . We did n't manage to get ahold of the Pastebin and GitHub links because they went down 20 minutes after they were posted , but we presume the links contained ransom demands Attack.Ransom . On the other hand , the Pirate Bay torrent file remained online , and users have downloaded and shared its content . Twelve hours later , TDO posted a new set of links on Twitter . These included a statement posted on Pastebin and a second torrent file , also hosted on The Pirate Bay , containing episodes 2 through 10 of the same season 5 of `` Orange Is The New Black . '' In the Pastebin statement , TDO says he released the ten `` Orange Is The New Black '' episodes because Netflix did n't want to pay a ransom demand Attack.Ransom . While we were n't able to get in touch with TDO after numerous attempts , the hacker spoke with the administrator of DataBreaches.net , a reporter named Dissent . In their interview , TDO revealed he discovered `` hundreds of GBs of unreleased and non-public media , '' on the servers of a Hollywood studio . The hacker did n't clarify if the server was exposed accidentally , or if he hacked it . DataBreaches.net identified the studio as Larson Studios , Inc. , an audio post-production company , who later confirmed TDO's extortion Attack.Ransom attempt via email . TDO claims the studio initially agreed to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom of 50 Bitcoin ( $ 67,000 ) by January 31 , and the two parties even signed a contract , albeit TDO signed it using the name `` Adolf Hitler . '' Something happened during the month of January , and the studio did not honor its word . At this point , the hacker turned from the studio to Netflix . According to TDO 's statement , Netflix did n't want to pay his ransom demand Attack.Ransom either , and after two months he was forced to release the first ten episodes of season 5 of `` Orange Is The New Black . '' According to Netflix 's website , season 5 is supposed to have 13 episodes and is scheduled for release in June , this year . The release of these episodes is TDO 's shot across the bow . The hacker claims to hold other unreleased shows and movies from several other studios .

Hackers that tried to extort money Attack.Ransom from Disney by threatening to make public an upcoming movie ahead of its release date appear to have been bluffing , the firm ’ s boss has revealed . Chairman and CEO Bob Iger said the media giant had , to its knowledge , not been hacked . “ We had a threat of a hack Attack.Databreach of a movie being stolen Attack.Databreach . We decided to take it seriously but not react in the manner in which the person who was threatening us had required , ” he told Yahoo Finance . “ We don ’ t believe that it was real and nothing has happened. ” The hackers apparently demanded Attack.Ransom a large payment Attack.Ransom in Bitcoin , and threatened to release five minutes of the stolen film followed by subsequent 20-minute instalments if their demands Attack.Ransom weren ’ t met . Disney likely took the threat seriously given that a similar incident occurred last month when a hacker uploaded the upcoming series of Netflix prison drama Orange is the New Black to The Pirate Bay after the streaming giant refused to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom . In that case , a third-party production vendor used by the studios was to blame , after its security was compromised by the hacker . Iger acknowledged the elevation of cybersecurity to a “ front burner issue. ” “ Technology is an enabler to run our businesses more securely , whether that ’ s protecting our intellectual property or protecting our guests or employees around the world , ” he argued . Unfortunately , many boardrooms don ’ t share Iger ’ s enthusiasm for cybersecurity-related issues . Just 5 % of FTSE 100 companies claim to have a technology expert on the board , despite most of them ( 87 % ) identifying cybersecurity as a major risk to the firm , according to a recent Deloitte report . Yet cybersecurity is something the C-level need to get urgently up to speed with , as increasing numbers are targeted by whalers . Just this month , Barclays CEO Jes Staley was tricked Attack.Phishing into emailing someone pretending to be Attack.Phishing the bank ’ s chairman , John McFarlane .

No one likes to have their company hacked . No one is going to be happy if hackers manage to break into systems and steal Attack.Databreach away their intellectual property . In the case of companies like Disney , having a $ 230 million blockbuster like the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie stolen Attack.Databreach could prove to be very costly if hackers follow through with their threats to seed their pirated copy of the film on torrent sites , disrupting its official release . But imagine how much more galling it would be to give in to the hackers ’ blackmail Attack.Ransom threats and pay a ransom Attack.Ransom for the movie not to be leaked online , only to discover later that the extortionists never had a copy of the film in the first place ? Earlier this month it was widely reported that Walt Disney ’ s CEO Bob Iger had been contacted by hackers who were threatening to release one of the studio ’ s movies onto the internet unless a ransom was paid Attack.Ransom . Iger didn ’ t say what movie the hackers claimed to have stolen Attack.Databreach , but it was widely thought to be the soon to be released “ Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Men Tell No Tales. ” That theory of the hacked movie ’ s identity certainly gained more momentum when it was reported that torrents had been spotted on Pirate Bay claiming to be the blockbuster starring Johnny Depp , Javier Bardem and Geoffrey Rush . However , none of those downloadable torrents were confirmed to contain the “ Pirates of the Caribbean ” movie . And in a video interview with Yahoo Finance , Disney ’ s CEO debunked claims that a movie had ever been stolen Attack.Databreach : “ To our knowledge we were not hacked . We had a threat of a hack Attack.Databreach of a movie being stolen Attack.Databreach . We decided to take it seriously but not react in the manner in which the person who was threatening us had required . We don ’ t believe that it was real and nothing has happened. ” In short , Disney says that it was not accurate that a movie was ever stolen Attack.Databreach , and it refused to pay the ransom demand Attack.Ransom to the extortionists . And that , in itself , may be a lesson for other companies to keep a cool head when they receive an extortion demand Attack.Ransom claiming that intellectual property or sensitive data has been stolen Attack.Databreach by hackers . Obviously all threats should be taken seriously , and you should explore appropriately whether it is possible a security breach has genuinely occurred , review the security of your systems , and inform law enforcement agencies as appropriate . But don ’ t be too quick to pay Attack.Ransom the criminals who are making threats against you . If you can , seek evidence that the hackers have what they claim to have , rather than reaching first for your wallets . It ’ s perfectly possible that some extortionists are simply jumping on the bandwagon of high profile hacks in an attempt to trick you into believing your company is the latest victim . Keep a cool head when your company receives a threat , or else you might find yourself in deep water , swimming with the hungry fishes .