Ukrainian national Yaroslav Vasinskyi was sentenced to 13 years and seven months in prison and ordered to pay $16 million in restitution for his REvil ransomware involvement. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Vasinskyi, with the alias "Rabotnik," was involved in more than 2,500 REvil (Sodinokibi) ransom attacks, totaling $700 million in demands. The cybercriminal and his accomplices stole corporate data and threatened to leak it if the victim did not pay a ransom. This article continues to discuss the the history and sentencing of Vasinskyi.

Zscaler reports a rise in deepfake phishing and vishing attacks as generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhances social engineering. AI-driven phishing attacks use AI tools to improve campaign sophistication and effectiveness. Phishing becomes harder to detect as AI automates and personalizes attack steps. Threat actors can quickly analyze massive datasets to adjust their attacks and replicate legitimate communications and websites with precision using AI algorithms. Phishers can trick even the most aware users with this sophistication.

According to network performance management provider Netscout, Sweden has faced a wave of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks since it started the process of joining NATO. The company noted that after a 500 Gbps attack against the Swedish government infrastructure in May 2023, DDoS attacks against Swedish organizations increased consistently, picking up significantly in late 2023 with 730 Gbps attacks. In 2024, the attack volume rose significantly from February.

According to security researchers at ReliaQuest, LockBit, Black Basta, and Play have been the most active ransomware groups in Q1 2024, with Black Basta experiencing a notable 41% increase in activity. The researchers noted that LockBit faced a significant setback due to law enforcement actions in February and despite efforts to restore operations, LockBit’s activity decreased by 21% compared to the previous quarter.

Dropbox has recently disclosed a significant breach in its systems, exposing customers’ data to unauthorized entities. The incident, detailed in a new regulatory filing, primarily affected Dropbox Sign, a service akin to DocuSign, allowing users to manage documents online. According to the company, management became aware of the breach on April 24 and promptly initiated cybersecurity measures.

York University's Behavior-Centric Cybersecurity Center (BCCC) is working with the network monitoring company cPacket to combat a significant cybercrime threat, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. Institutions sometimes detect DDoS attacks too late to stop them. Due to the need for real-time detection to combat this threat, York University's BCCC and the cPacket company collaborated to develop a solution to help cybersecurity researchers study and respond to DDoS attacks more effectively.

The National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and more have released a Fact Sheet urging critical infrastructure organizations to mitigate pro-Russia hacktivist cyber activity against Operational Technology (OT) devices.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure ruling took effect last fall. Public companies must disclose whether their boards of directors have cybersecurity experts. Keri Pearlson, executive director of the Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan Research Consortium (CAMS), studies organizational, strategic, management, and leadership challenges in cybersecurity, with her current focus being on the board's role.

Attacks on GPS signals and wider satellite navigation systems, known as GNSS, have increased. Attackers can jam signals, forcing them offline, or spoof signals to make aircraft and ships appear in false locations on maps. Governments and telecommunications organizations, along with airline safety experts, are now warning of disruptions and potential major disasters stemming from such attacks. Attacks against GPS, and the wider GNSS category take two forms.

Panda Restaurant Group, the parent company of Panda Express, Panda Inn, and Hibachi-San, recently disclosed a data breach after attackers compromised its corporate systems in March and stole the personal information of an undisclosed number of individuals. Panda Express is the largest Chinese fast food chain in the United States, with over $3 billion in sales and 47,000 associates working in 2,300 branches.