- August and September showed a sharp increase in ransomware activity, with those months accounting for 26% and 18% of reported ransomware incidents in the last half year, respectively.
- Akira, Qilin, and INC Ransomware represented 65%
CISA Issues Advisory on Chinese State-Sponsored Actors Targeting Critical Infrastructure
On August 27, 2025, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a Cybersecurity Advisory entitled “Countering Chinese State-Sponsored Actors Compromise of Networks Worldwide to Feed Global Espionage System.” The Advisory warns that People’s Republic of China (PRC) sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) actors “are targeting networks globally, including, but not limited to, telecommunications, government…
Law Enforcement Disrupts BlackSuit (Royal) Gang
In this line of work, I am often asked if law enforcement is ever successful in finding and punishing the threat actors who have wreaked havoc on U.S. businesses and stolen millions of dollars in ransomware attacks. I am so pleased to report that—although few and far between, and very difficult to accomplish—there are wins…
Pennsylvania Attorney General Announces Recent Cyber-Attack: What You Need to Know about Citrix Bleed 2
On August 11, 2025, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (PA AG) issued a statement on its Facebook account regarding a cyber incident that had affected PA AG systems, including its website, email accounts, and phone lines.
The PA AG has not shared a specific cause of the incident. However, security researcher Kevin Beaumont recognized…
Privacy Tip #415 – It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
October is always a busy month for cybersecurity professionals. For the past 21 years, October has been an especially busy month for me as it is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This means lots of employee education and awareness sessions, which I love to do! Commemorating National Cybersecurity Month with education and awareness sessions is fitting and…
Russian Military Cyber Actors Targeting Critical Infrastructure Sector
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency, and other international partners, issued an Alert on September 5, 2024, warning that cyber actors affiliated with the Russian military are targeting critical infrastructure, government services, financial services, transportation systems, energy, and healthcare sectors of NATO…
CISA, FBI + DC3 Alert Warns of Iran-Based Ransomware Attacks
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) issued a joint alert on August 28, 2024, warning U.S.-based organizations that cyber actors, “known in the private sector as Pioneer Kitten, UNC757, Parisite, Rubidium, and Lemon Sandstorm,” are targeting and exploiting U.S. organizations…
CISA Names First Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer
On August 1, 2024, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the appointment of its first CISA Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. The appointee, Lisa Einstein, served as CISA’s Senior Advisor for AI and as Executive Director of CISA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, advising CISA on the reduction of risk to critical infrastructure. She earned a…
Columbus, Ohio Hit with Ransomware Attack
The city of Columbus, Ohio, announced on May 29, 2024, that it was forced to take its systems offline due to a ransomware attack. According to its notice, the attack was perpetrated by “an established, sophisticated threat actor operating overseas,” and that it was working with law enforcement to investigate the incident.
According to…
CISA Warns of Three New Vulnerabilities Actively Exploited by Threat Actors
- CVE-2024-34102 Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE) Vulnerability
- CVE-2024-28995 SolarWinds Serv-U Path Traversal Vulnerability