Explore how ransomware attacks work, how they infiltrate networks, and what steps individuals and organizations can take to prevent, detect, and recover from ransomware incidents. Articles cover recent ransomware variants, encryption tactics, backup strategies, and incident response planning.
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The Colonial Pipeline Attack Changed Everything In May 2021, a single compromised password led to the most disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure in history. DarkSide ransomware shut down Colonial Pipeline's 5,500-mile fuel system, triggering gas shortages across the eastern seaboard. The company paid a $4.
Colonial Pipeline Was Just the Beginning In May 2021, a single compromised password shut down the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. Colonial Pipeline paid DarkSide operators $4.4 million in ransom. Fuel shortages rippled across the Southeast for days. That attack used just one of the many types
Colonial Pipeline Just Gave Us a Real-World Cyber Security Definition On May 7, 2021, a single compromised password shut down the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. Colonial Pipeline halted operations after a ransomware attack attributed to the DarkSide group, triggering fuel shortages across the Southeast. If you want
The Attack That Shut Down a Pipeline — and a Wake-Up Call for Everyone In February 2020, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published an alert after a ransomware attack forced a natural gas compression facility to shut down for two full days. The threat actor got in through a
In February 2021, Kia Motors America was hit with a ransomware attack reportedly demanding $20 million in Bitcoin. Customers couldn't access dealer portals. Internal systems went dark. The company spent days scrambling to restore operations. This wasn't an isolated event — it was the latest in a
The Colonial Pipeline Wasn't the Wake-Up Call — Your Last Backup Test Was In February 2021, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued renewed guidance on ransomware after a string of attacks against hospitals, schools, and local governments. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that
A Single Click Cost One Hospital $67 Million In September 2020, Universal Health Services — one of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. — got hit by the Ryuk ransomware strain. The attack shut down systems across 400 facilities. Patients were diverted. Records went analog. The final damage? An estimated
In July 2020, Twitter disclosed that attackers had compromised 130 high-profile accounts — including those of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple — through a social engineering attack targeting employees with access to internal tools. The breach didn't involve some exotic zero-day exploit. It started with phone calls to Twitter
In July 2020, Garmin went dark. Their fitness trackers, aviation navigation tools, and customer support systems all went offline simultaneously. A ransomware attack attributed to the WastedLocker strain reportedly crippled the company for days. If you're wondering how to respond to a cyberattack, Garmin's very public
The SolarWinds Hack Rewrote the Playbook — While We Were Still Reading It As I write this in December 2020, the cybersecurity world is reeling from the SolarWinds supply chain compromise — arguably the most sophisticated cyber espionage campaign ever discovered against the U.S. government and private sector. It's
