The ShinyHunters extortion gang stole personal information from 4.9 million accounts after hacking the U.S. telecom giant Charter Communications in early April, according to data breach notification service Have I Been Pwned. […]
Tag: extortion
AI, Apps, Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Global Security News, Network Security, Risk Management
ShinyHunters Alleges 42M Records Stolen from Charter Communications
Charter Communications confirmed a cybersecurity incident after the ShinyHunters extortion group claimed it stole customer data and threatened to leak the information unless a ransom was paid. The company, which operates under the Spectrum brand, said it is investigating the incident and coordinating with authorities. “The Charter breach is a reminder that the most sophisticated…
Global Security News
Ransomware Actors Show Up In Person to Steal Law Firm Data
The FBI warned that the extortion gang Silent Ransom Group is targeting law firms and socially engineering its way into servers and databases.
AI, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, Risk Management, Russia
FBI warns US-based law firms to be on the lookout for cybercrime group that steals data in person
Silent Ransom Group, a long-running data extortion operation, continues to hit U.S.-based law firms by impersonating IT support and, in some cases, visiting victims in person to gain physical access to computers, the FBI said in an alert Tuesday. The closed group, which likely operates from Russia and emerged in 2022 after Conti disbanded, has…
Global Security News
FBI warns of in-person data theft attacks from extortion gang
The FBI warned on Tuesday that the Silent Ransom Group (SRG) extortion gang is now targeting U.S.-based law firms in in-person data theft attacks. […]
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News
7-Eleven data breach exposes personal information of 185,000 people
The ShinyHunters extortion gang stole the personal information of over 183,000 people after hacking the systems of convenience store chain giant 7-Eleven in April, according to data breach notification service Have I Been Pwned. […]
AI, Data Breaches, Endpoint, Global Security News, Risk Management
Why pure extortion is replacing traditional ransomware
Ransomware gangs are shifting from encryption to pure extortion, focusing on stolen data, reputational pressure, and stealthier attacks. Ransomware groups are quietly changing strategy in 2026. Instead of encrypting systems and causing immediate disruption, many attackers are now focusing on pure extortion: stealing sensitive data and threatening to leak it publicly if victims refuse to…
Global Security News
FBI warns students and staff that ShinyHunters may come knocking after Canvas breach
Having receive a ransom payment for its attack on Canvas, ShinyHunters and other extortion gangs are only likely to be further incentivised to launch similar attacks in future. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
AI, Global Security News
ShinyHunters Escalates Canvas Extortion with School by School Ransom Campaign
ShinyHunters has escalated its Canvas extortion campaign, defacing hundreds of school login pages and threatening to leak stolen data unless institutions negotiate
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News, Government & Policy
Canvas Breach Disrupts Schools & Colleges Nationwide
An ongoing data extortion attack targeting the widely-used education technology platform Canvas disrupted classes and coursework at school districts and universities across the United States today, after a cybercrime group defaced the service’s login page with a ransom demand that threatened to leak data from 275 million students and faculty across nearly 9,000 educational institutions.…
AI, Data Breaches, Exploits, Global Security News
Canvas login portals hacked in mass ShinyHunters extortion campaign
The ShinyHunters extortion gang has breached education technology giant Instructure again, this time exploiting another vulnerability to deface Canvas login portals for hundreds of colleges and universities. […]
Data Breaches, Global Security News
Vimeo data breach exposes personal information of 119,000 people
The ShinyHunters extortion gang stole personal information belonging to over 119,000 people after hacking the Vimeo online video platform in April, according to data breach notification service Have I Been Pwned. […]
Data Breaches, Global Security News
Home security giant ADT data breach affects 5.5 million people
The ShinyHunters extortion group stole the personal information of 5.5 million individuals after breaching the systems of home security giant ADT earlier this month, according to data breach notification service Have I Been Pwned. […]
AI, Global Security News, Network Security
BlackFile actively extorting data-theft victims in retail and hospitality sector
Researchers warn that BlackFile, an extortion group likely associated with The Com, continues to impersonate IT support in voice-phishing and social engineering attacks that have impacted organizations in multiple industries, including healthcare, technology, transportation, logistics, wholesale and retail. Attackers have been actively targeting organizations in the retail and hospitality industry since February, according to Unit…
Global Security News
BlackFile Group Targets Retail and Hospitality with Vishing Attacks
Researchers uncover a new data theft and extortion group dubbed “BlackFile”
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News
ADT confirms data breach after ShinyHunters leak threat
Home security giant ADT has confirmed a data breach after the ShinyHunters extortion group threatened to leak stolen data unless a ransom is paid. […]
Data Breaches, Global Security News
Data breach at edtech giant McGraw Hill affects 13.5 million accounts
The ShinyHunters extortion group has leaked data from 13.5 million McGraw Hill user accounts, stolen after breaching the company’s Salesforce environment earlier this month. […]
Data Breaches, Global Security News
Kraken Exchange Faces Extortion After Insider Recorded System Footage
Kraken exchange faces extortion after a staff member misused access to record internal systems, about 2,000 accounts affected, no funds or systems breached.
Global Security News
Google Warns of New Threat Group Targeting BPOs and Helpdesks
Google’s threat intel team warns UNC6783, a new extortion group possibly linked to the “Raccoon” persona, is targeting BPOs and enterprises
AI, Global Security News
World Leaks data extortion: What you need to know
World Leaks is a cyber extortion operation that steals sensitive data from organizations and threatens to leak it via the dark web if a ransom is not paid. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.
AI, Endpoint, Exploits, Global Security News, malware, Network Security, Risk Management
‘CanisterWorm’ Springs Wiper Attack Targeting Iran
A financially motivated data theft and extortion group is attempting to inject itself into the Iran war, unleashing a worm that spreads through poorly secured cloud services and wipes data on infected systems that use Iran’s time zone or have Farsi set as the default language. Experts say the wiper campaign against Iran materialized this…
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Network Security, Risk Management
North Carolina tech worker found guilty of insider attack netting $2.5M ransom
A 27-year-old North Carolina man was found guilty of six counts of extortion for a series of crimes he committed while working as a data analyst contractor for a D.C.-based international technology company, the Justice Department said Thursday. Cameron Nicholas Curry, also known as “Loot,” stole a trove of corporate data, including sensitive employee and…
Global Security News
Alabama man pleads guilty to hacking, extorting hundreds of women
A 22-year-old Alabama man pleaded guilty to extortion, cyberstalking, and computer fraud charges after hijacking the social media accounts of hundreds of young women (including minors). […]
Global Security News
CarGurus data breach exposes information of 12.4 million accounts
The ShinyHunters extortion group has published personal information in more than 12 million records allegedly stolen from CarGurus, a U.S.-based digital auto platform. […]
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News
ShinyHunters extortion gang claims Odido breach affecting millions
The ShinyHunters extortion gang has claimed responsibility for breaching Dutch telecommunications provider Odido and stealing millions of user records from its compromised systems. […]
Global Security News
Low-Skilled Cybercriminals Use AI to Perform “Vibe Extortion” Attacks
Unit 42 researchers observed a low-skilled threat actor using an LLM to script a professional extortion strategy, complete with deadlines and pressure tactics
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News
Canada Goose investigating as hackers leak 600K customer records
ShinyHunters, a well-known data extortion group, claims to have stolen more than 600,000 Canada Goose customer records containing personal and payment-related data. Canada Goose told BleepingComputer the dataset appears to relate to past customer transactions and that it has not found evidence of a breach of its own systems. […]