Cyber Risks · Cisco Talos

Ransomware attacks and how victims respond

Summary: A Cisco Talos newsletter cites U.K. government research on ransomware's impact on small businesses and a RUSI report finding that victims experience trauma, exhaustion and emotional harm that rival and often outlast the financial or operational damage. The same edition describes a North Korean campaign by Famous Chollima targeting job seekers with trojanized applications built on BeaverTail and OtterCookie, now including keylogging, screenshot capture and clipboard monitoring, delivered through malicious NPM packages and a fake VS Code extension.

What's compelling: Small businesses are described as disproportionately vulnerable because they lack the cash reserves, legal teams and dedicated security staff of larger firms, and the psychological toll can persist after operations are restored. The Chollima campaign shows that developers installing an NPM package or a VS Code extension can be the entry point for credential and cryptocurrency theft.

Read the original at Cisco Talos ↗

Topics
Malware
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