Blog | Cyber Attacks & Digital Risks

Egregor: The New Ransomware Variant to Watch

November 24, 2020 | 9 Min Read

INTRODUCING EGREGOR RANSOMWARE GROUP First observed on September 25th, 2020, the Egregor ransomware variant has been making considerable strides in...

Read Here

SeachLight’s Exposed Document Alerts: Uncover the Critical, Faster

November 23, 2020 | 5 Min Read

BACKING UP…INTO A DITCH I am a terrible driver. While I’ve sat through Driver’s Ed courses, studied physics and trigonometry,...

Read Here

Holiday Cybercrime: Retail Risks and Dark Web Kicks

November 19, 2020 | 7 Min Read

The holidays are right around the corner, and you know what that means – more calories and significant price drops...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update: RegretLocker, OceanLotus, Millions Seized in Cryptocurrency, and more!

November 16, 2020 | 2 Min Read

ShadowTalk hosts Stefano, Kim, Dylan, and Adam bring you the latest in threat intelligence. This week they cover: RegretLocker’s approach...

Read Here

To Code or Not to Code? Cybercriminals and the world of programming

November 12, 2020 | 9 Min Read

If you keep a pulse on the technology sector or have take note of billboard ads in any urban area...

Read Here

Work Smarter, Not Harder: The Evolution of DDoS Activity in 2020

November 10, 2020 | 10 Min Read

Ransomware operations have undoubtedly dominated the 2020 cyber threat landscape thanks to multi-million-dollar heists and new malware variants popping up...

Read Here

A Eulogy for Maze: The end of a ransomware era?

November 9, 2020 | 6 Min Read

Maze— a high profile ransomware gang in the cybercriminal world— now claims they’ve ceased to exist. The hacker group famed...

Read Here

Simplifying Cybercriminal Jargon: A Glossary of Cybercriminal Access Offerings

November 2, 2020 | 15 Min Read

With advertisements for access to compromised victim networks becoming increasingly prevalent across cybercriminal platforms, Digital Shadows has compiled the following...

Read Here

Ransomware operators targeting healthcare organizations: Monitoring the situation

October 29, 2020 | 9 Min Read

On 28 Oct 2020, in response to large-scale and coordinated attacks by ransomware operators targeting United States-based healthcare services, the...

Read Here

Mapping MITRE ATT&CK to SandWorm APT’s Global Campaign

October 28, 2020 | 7 Min Read

On Thursday, October 15th, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) indicted six Russian military officers connected to the SandWorm...

Read Here

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Week 4 – The Future of Connected Devices

October 28, 2020 | 8 Min Read

This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month has served as a refreshing installment of security considerations that are often at risk of...

Read Here

Foreign cyber threats to the 2020 US presidential election

October 27, 2020 | 12 Min Read

In 2016, Russian nation-state-linked threat actors infamously compromised the Democratic National Convention (DNC), wedging a divide in the political party...

Read Here

Marcus Carey Joins ShadowTalk

October 23, 2020 | 3 Min Read

We recently had mentor, author, founder, US Navy veteran, and Texan, Marcus Carey join ShadowTalk. For those who don’t know...

Read Here

Dark pathways into cybercrime: Minding the threat actor talent gap

October 21, 2020 | 11 Min Read

Digital Shadows recently published two blogs looking at how threat actors express their personality on cybercriminal forums — either inadvertently...

Read Here

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Week 3 – Securing Internet- Connected Devices in Healthcare

October 21, 2020 | 9 Min Read

The healthcare industry is increasingly relying upon internet-connected devices and solutions to improve patient care, organizational efficiency, crisis response speed,...

Read Here

Quarterly Update: Ransomware Trends in Q3

October 19, 2020 | 8 Min Read

As we embark on the final months of 2020, ransomware has been the main topic of conversation once again. Throughout...

Read Here

Digital Shadows Analysis of Europol’s Cybercrime Report

October 14, 2020 | 12 Min Read

In early October 2020, Europol released their Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2020, detailing the latest trends and impacts...

Read Here

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Week 2 – Security Devices at Home and Work

October 14, 2020 | 7 Min Read

This week, National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) focuses on accountability and responsibility behind securing your devices at home and...

Read Here

Clickbait to Checkmate: SMS-based scam targets US smartphones and accesses victim locations

October 13, 2020 | 11 Min Read

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Digital Shadows has observed a significant increase in the number of SMS-based phishing...

Read Here

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Week 1 – If you Connect It, Protect It

October 8, 2020 | 6 Min Read

This week marks the opening week of the annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). While focusing on cybersecurity is...

Read Here

Help your development teams keep their keys safe

October 7, 2020 | 3 Min Read

Modern development practices are a blessing and a curse for organizations. Efficiency gains delivered by distributed workforces, and blended in...

Read Here

Let’s get ready to tumble! Bitcoin vs Monero

October 6, 2020 | 13 Min Read

Over the past ten years, cryptocurrencies have become the go-to form of payment for the less law-abiding citizens of the...

Read Here

Recent arrests and high-profile convictions: What does it mean for the cyber threat landscape?

September 30, 2020 | 13 Min Read

In the wonderful world of cyber threat intelligence and research, we often analyze the impact that cybercrime or nation-state activity...

Read Here

Four Ways to Validate Credentials in SearchLight

September 29, 2020 | 3 Min Read

Amid the billions of credentials that are breached each year, security teams are focused on one core question: do any...

Read Here

Cybercriminals Targeting SAP RECON

September 29, 2020 | 5 Min Read

Key takeaways From the discussions that rapidly emerged following the publication of CVE-2020-6287, we can learn the following: There is...

Read Here

Unpicking Cybercriminals’ Personalities – Part 2: Morality and Forum Dynamics

September 28, 2020 | 7 Min Read

In the first part of this blog series, we looked at numerous examples of ways cybercriminals have expressed their gender...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Law Enforcement Cracks Down On Cybercriminals, Fancy Bear Goes Phishing, And More

September 28, 2020 | 2 Min Read

ShadowTalk hosts Kacey, Charles, Alec and Digital Shadows CISO Rick bring you the latest in threat intelligence. This week they...

Read Here

RECAP: Discussing deception with Chris Sanders

September 24, 2020 | 3 Min Read

When I was a Forrester Research analyst, I had some strong opinions on deception technology. Approximately five years ago, I...

Read Here

Unpicking Cybercriminals’ Personalities – Part 1: Gender and Nationality

September 23, 2020 | 9 Min Read

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking about cybercriminal forums as purely transactional platforms; environments in which cut-throat...

Read Here

DarkSide: The new ransomware group behind highly targeted attacks

September 22, 2020 | 8 Min Read

We’ve recently observed the emergence of a new ransomware operation named DarkSide. The nuance of the operation includes corporate-like methods...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Ed Merrett Joins To Talk HackableYou And The Latest In Threat Intel

September 21, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Listen below 👇👇 ShadowTalk Threat Intelligence Podcast · Weekly: The Team Talks Baka, Epic Manchego, and Smaug, Plus Emotet Rides...

Read Here

With the Empire falling, who will take over the throne?

September 16, 2020 | 10 Min Read

With the Empire falling, who will take over the throne? Empire Market’s exit scam has dealt a significant blow to...

Read Here

Access Keys Exposed: More Than 40% Are For Database Stores

September 14, 2020 | 6 Min Read

By now, we’ve all heard news about AWS keys leaked by a developer on GitHub. While this can cause damaging...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – The Team Talks Baka, Epic Manchego, and Smaug, Plus Emotet Rides Again

September 14, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Listen below 👇👇 ShadowTalk Threat Intelligence Podcast · Weekly: The Team Talks Baka, Epic Manchego, and Smaug, Plus Emotet Rides...

Read Here

Recruitment fraud: Don’t spook your dream candidates this halloween

September 10, 2020 | 4 Min Read

Everyone wants their dream job. Some people get it, others think they’ve found it online… the job post looks appealing:...

Read Here

Not another ransomware blog: Initial access brokers and their role

September 9, 2020 | 5 Min Read

It’s hard to get very far in cyber threat intelligence without discussing ransomware. Actually, it’s almost impossible. Keeping with the...

Read Here

Cyber espionage: How to not get spooked by nation-state actors

September 8, 2020 | 8 Min Read

In all the years I’ve worked in the cybersecurity field (nine if anyone’s counting), I haven’t seen as much reporting...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – New Zealand Stock Exchange faces DDoS, Tesla avoids cyberattack, and Pioneer Kitten updates

September 7, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Listen below 👇👇 ShadowTalk Threat Intelligence Podcast · Weekly: New Zealand Stock Exchange faces DDoS, Tesla avoids cyberattack, and Pioneer...

Read Here

Revisiting Typosquatting and the 2020 US Presidential Election

September 2, 2020 | 11 Min Read

In October 2019, Digital Shadows’ Photon Research Team embarked on an adventure involving election typosquats that could potentially affect the...

Read Here

What is DevSecOps and Why Do We Need It?

August 12, 2020 | 4 Min Read

DevSecOps, SecDevOps, and any variation of those words are massively trending topics in tech companies today. People love to talk...

Read Here

Dread takes on the spammers – who will come out on top?

August 28, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Spamming is an irritating and sometimes damaging issue that affects all of us, whether it’s constant emails about dubious products...

Read Here

Fall of the behemoth: Cybercriminal underground rocked by Empire’s apparent exit scam

August 27, 2020 | 10 Min Read

Summer is generally a relatively quiet time in the cybercriminal underground. It seems that, just like the rest of us,...

Read Here

“ALEXA, WHO IS THE NUMBER ONE CYBERCRIMINAL FORUM TO RULE THEM ALL?”

August 26, 2020 | 12 Min Read

In June 2020, the administrator of the English-language cybercriminal carding forum Altenen announced a “big victory” for the site in...

Read Here

RECAP: Discussing the evolution and trends of cybercrime with Geoff White

August 25, 2020 | 8 Min Read

In late July 2020, Digital Shadows had the fantastic opportunity to speak with Geoff White on ShadowTalk, Digital Shadows’ threat...

Read Here

Validate Exposed Credentials with Okta to Save Even More Time

August 24, 2020 | 3 Min Read

SearchLight customers can now automatically validate credential alerts via an integration with Okta, drastically reducing the time required to triage. ...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Emotet Gets a Vaccine, NSA Drovorub Advisory, and North Korean Activity plus Bureau 121

August 24, 2020 | 3 Min Read

Listen below 👇👇 ShadowTalk Threat Intelligence Podcast · Weekly: Emotet Gets a Vaccine, NSA Drovorub Advisory, and North Korean Activity...

Read Here

Dark Web Forums – The new kid on the block

August 18, 2020 | 12 Min Read

Introducing DWF There’s a new kid on the block, and their name is Dark Web Forums (DWF). Have they come...

Read Here

Optiv CTIE 2020: COVID-19, cybercrime, and third-party risk

August 17, 2020 | 10 Min Read

Optiv recently released their 2020 Cyber Threat Intelligence Estimate report, which gives organizations a detailed view into the current cyber...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Defaced Subreddits, Intel Leak Drama on Twitter, and HIBP Goes Open-Source

August 17, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Listen below 👇👇 ShadowTalk Threat Intelligence Podcast · Weekly: Defaced Subreddits, Intel Leak Drama on Twitter, and HIBP Goes Open-Source...

Read Here

It’s even easier to initiate takedowns in SearchLight

August 12, 2020 | 3 Min Read

When faced with infringing content, phishing domain or an impersonation of the brand, security teams want to take down content...

Read Here

Escrow systems on cybercriminal forums: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

August 11, 2020 | 15 Min Read

Just a few short months ago, the Russian-language cybercriminal scene was rocked by the news of an arbitration case involving...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – CWT pays ransom, data leaked for 900+ Pulse Secure Servers, EU issues first cyber sanctions

August 10, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Listen below 👇👇 ShadowTalk Threat Intelligence Podcast · Weekly: CWT pays ransom, data leaked for 900+ Pulse Secure Servers, EU...

Read Here

Saving the SOC from overload by operationalizing digital risk protection

August 5, 2020 | 4 Min Read

As you may have seen last week, the latest research from our Photon Research team explores the increasing phenomenon of...

Read Here

The story of Nulled: Old dog, new tricks

August 4, 2020 | 9 Min Read

It is often said that old dogs have a hard time learning new tricks, yet researchers have claimed that because...

Read Here

BitBazaar Market and The Rise of Neptune Market: The End of the Saga spells hope for another

August 3, 2020 | 8 Min Read

Those running dark web marketplaces will do almost anything to achieve their desire to make a lot of money or...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Garmin ransomware attack, QSnatch malware, and ShinyHunters Stage 2

August 3, 2020 | 3 Min Read

This week it’s a full house with ShadowTalk hosts Alex, Kacey, Charles, Alec and Rick. During this episode they cover:...

Read Here

Dark Web Travel Agencies Revisited: The Impact of Coronavirus on the Shadow Travel Industry

July 29, 2020 | 10 Min Read

However, the level of engagement on Patriarh’s formerly-active threads has dropped significantly since we last shone our spotlight on them....

Read Here

Account takeover: Expanding on impact

July 27, 2020 | 7 Min Read

Digital Shadows has collected over 15 billion credentials across the open, deep, and dark web. In our recent research piece,...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Trickbot trojan mishaps, Emotet resurgence, Twitter takeovers, and APT group updates

July 27, 2020 | 2 Min Read

This week’s ShadowTalk hosts Adam, Demi, Stefano and Kim discuss the latest threat intelligence stories. In this episode they cover: ...

Read Here

Ransomware Trends in Q2: How Threat Intelligence Helps

July 22, 2020 | 8 Min Read

If you’re anything like me, it can be a struggle to keep up with the latest ransomware news. Last quarter,...

Read Here

Jira Atlassian SearchLight Integration

July 21, 2020 | 2 Min Read

On average, it’s estimated that security teams deploy around 47 cybersecurity solutions and technologies. That’s more solutions than hours in...

Read Here

The Rise of OpenBullet: A Deep Dive in the Attacker’s ATO toolkit

July 20, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Account takeover (ATO) has become a serious issue for many organizations. Digital Shadows has identified over 15 billion credentials circulating...

Read Here

Abracadabra! – CryptBB demystifying the illusion of the private forum

July 15, 2020 | 8 Min Read

You wouldn’t usually associate cybercriminal forums with the mysterious “Magic Circle,” (for non-Brits less familiar with the subject, the Magic...

Read Here

SearchLight’s Credential Validation: Only Focus on What Matters

July 14, 2020 | 4 Min Read

Of the many use cases associated with threat intelligence and digital risk protection, monitoring for exposed credentials is always one...

Read Here

Tax Fraud in 2020: Down But Not Out

July 13, 2020 | 4 Min Read

After a three month extension, tomorrow marks tax deadline day for the United States. While it may seem that tax...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – PAN-OS Vulnerability, Lazarus Group, BEC scammer “Hushpuppi”, and New Photon ATO Research

July 13, 2020 | 2 Min Read

This week, Digital Shadows team Viktoria, Demelza, Adam and Stefano cover: PAN-OS Vulnerability (CVE-2020-2021): Impact & Mitigation Magecart Developments: Lazarus...

Read Here

From Exposure to Takeover: Part 1. Beg, borrow, and steal your way in

July 7, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Account Takeover: Why criminals can’t resist We rely on passwords to safeguard those precious accounts that allow us to conduct...

Read Here

Digital Risk Reporting Best Practices: Top 10 Ways to Build Killer Reports in SearchLight

June 30, 2020 | 4 Min Read

We all have those days or that time of the quarter where management demands a nice glossy report with the...

Read Here

Multiple vs. Exclusive Sales on the Dark Web: What’s in a sale?

June 29, 2020 | 9 Min Read

When going out on a shopping spree, you would naturally have different expectations of price, accessibility, quality, and exclusivity of...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Torigon, Nulledflix, and BlueLeaks, Plus DevSecOps Insights From DS CISO Rick

June 29, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Alex, Kacey, Charles and Rick host this week’s ShadowTalk to bring you the latest threat intelligence stories. This week they...

Read Here

Introducing Nulledflix – Nulled forum’s own streaming service

June 23, 2020 | 8 Min Read

Lockdowns implemented during the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic have forced people around the world to spend a large part of...

Read Here

Torigon Forum: A sad case of all show and no go

June 23, 2020 | 11 Min Read

When we review the ideal template for a successful cybercriminal forum, we are on the lookout for several key factors:...

Read Here

Modern Software Development and DevSecOps: Despite security controls, data leaks persist

June 22, 2020 | 15 Min Read

Quick Synopsis No matter how many software developers you employ, development processes or cultures (such as DevOps or DevSecOps) that...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Lookback Operators Deploy New Malware Against US Utilities Sector And Honda Cyber Attack

June 22, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Demelza, Viktoria, Adam, and Stefano host this week’s ShadowTalk to bring you the latest threat intelligence stories from the week....

Read Here

Ensuring order in the underground: Recruiting moderators on cybercriminal forums

June 18, 2020 | 10 Min Read

While there have been many predictable consequences of the ongoing global COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic, few would have foreseen significant...

Read Here

Reducing technical leakage: Detecting software exposure from the outside-in

June 16, 2020 | 6 Min Read

Modern Development Practices Leads to Increased Exposure As customers, we can be a bit demanding when it comes to technology...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Maze Ransomware Alliance, EndGame DDoS Protection Tool, And Ransomware Disguises

June 15, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Alex is joined by Kacey and Charles this week to chat through the top threat intel stories of the week....

Read Here

Security Threat Intel Products and Services: Mapping SearchLight

June 10, 2020 | 6 Min Read

1. TI Analyst Augmentation. Very few organizations have access to vast resources that will enable them to build out a...

Read Here

CISA and FBI alert: Top vulnerabilities exploited from 2016-2019 and trends from 2020

June 9, 2020 | 7 Min Read

A couple of weeks ago, the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation...

Read Here

New DDoS protection tool advertised on the dark web

June 9, 2020 | 7 Min Read

This blog examines a newly launched DDoS protection filter mechanism dubbed EndGame advertised last week on the dark web community...

Read Here

SHADOWTALK UPDATE – HACKTIVIST CHOOSES DESTRUCTION OVER PROFIT W/ RANSOMWARE AND COLLECTION 1 HACKER IDENTIFIED

June 1, 2020 | 2 Min Read

Pietro, Viktoria, Adam, and Demelza cover this week’s top threat intelligence stories, including a Hacktivist group choosing destruction over profit...

Read Here

Dark Web Digest: Exploring the risk impact of dark web findings, the evolution of forums, and observed trends

May 29, 2020 | 12 Min Read

This week, Digital Shadows hosted a webinar covering dark web trends that we have recently observed, the risk impact associated...

Read Here

3 Phishing Trends Organizations Should Watch Out For

May 20, 2020 | 16 Min Read

It’s only May, and is it just me, or has this already been the longest decade ever? Cyber-threat actors are...

Read Here

The 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report: One CISO’s View

May 19, 2020 | 6 Min Read

Sadly, Marvel’s Black Widow release date was pushed back as a result of COVID19, but thankfully the 2020 Verizon Data...

Read Here

SHADOWTALK UPDATE – WANNACRY ANNIVERSARY, WORDPRESS PLUGIN VULNERABILITY, AND WELEAKDATA COMPROMISED

May 18, 2020 | 2 Min Read

The team starts this week’s episode with a retrospective look at WannaCry, discussing some core lessons learned from this ransomware...

Read Here

A NEW DECADE OF CYBER THREATS: LOOKING BACK AT THE TRENDING CYBER TOPICS OF Q1 2020

May 14, 2020 | 10 Min Read

Q1 2020 was packed full of significant global events, including military and geopolitical tensions and the onset of the COVID-19...

Read Here

BitBazaar Market: Deception and Manipulation on the Dark Web

May 12, 2020 | 8 Min Read

It’s a BitBazaar that they thought they could deceive us!: A Soap opera featuring dark web forums and marketplaces “When...

Read Here

Contact Tracing: Can ‘Big Tech’ Come to the Rescue, and at What Cost?

May 11, 2020 | 13 Min Read

Co-authored by: Pratik Sinha MD PhD1,2, Alastair E Paterson3 M.Eng With over 215,000 dead globally and with close to 26...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Competitions On English Forums, Purple Teaming, & Hacker Bribes ‘Roblox’ Insider

May 11, 2020 | 2 Min Read

This week Alex chats with Kacey, Charles, and Rick around competitions we’ve been seeing on English-language cybercriminal forums and how...

Read Here

Threat Intelligence Feeds: Why Context is Key

May 7, 2020 | 10 Min Read

Key Takeaways: Choosing which threat intelligence feeds to rely on can be a daunting task: Different feeds provide varying levels...

Read Here

Competitions on English-language cybercriminal forums: A stagnant competition model?

May 5, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Russian-language cybercriminal forums aren’t the only ones to host competitions. In January 2020, we published a blog about competitions on...

Read Here

ShadowTalk Update – Microsoft Teams ATO Vulnerability, APT32, & Uptick In Ransomware

May 1, 2020 | 3 Min Read

Jamie, Adam, and Demelza join Viktoria for this week’s threat intelligence updates. Top stories this week include:– Vulnerability allowed hijacking...