SAMSAM RANSOMWHERE SOFTWARE

In this way, the SamSam hackers need not rely on social engineering to get access to their targets.

SAMSAM RANSOMWHERE SOFTWARE

Weak or easily guessed administrative passwords on common web servers, network equipment, and other internet-facing hardware and software.

Unprotected file transfer protocol (FTP) servers.

Unprotected software ports related to MicrosoftвЂ™s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

Unlike most ransomware attacks, SamSamвЂ™s hackers target specific organizations, often local governments, hospitals, and the like, and use advanced tools to scan their systems for vulnerabilities. SamSam has been around in various forms since at least 2015. Case Study: SamSam RansomwareД¬onsider the SamSam ransomware attack. The true cost to an organization that has the misfortune to succumb to a ransomware attack can be much higher. But these figures tell only a part of the story. The news stories will tell you that ransomware demands can be in the thousands of dollars per affected computer. And the fact that many victims choose to pay up simply emboldens the hackers even more. ItвЂ™s become clear that hackers using ransomware tactics are becoming bolder and demanding more money from their victims. Two days passed between evidence of an intrusion and the encryption of hundreds of the organizationвЂ™s computers.Ransomware stories pop up in the news with almost predictable regularity these days. In one February attack that Symantec studied, the hackers loaded two versions of SamSam, likely in case one iteration was detected by security protections, according to Symantec. According to the new research, SamSam group is bringing its own backups to network showdowns. Security experts advise organizations to back up their data to defend against ransomware attacks. SamSamвЂ™s вЂњmodus operandi is to gain access to an organizationвЂ™s network, spend time performing reconnaissance by mapping out the network, before encrypting as many computers as possible and presenting the organization with a single ransom demand,вЂќ the Symantec blog states.

The group does its homework before going after an entire organizationвЂ™s computer network. In January, after SamSam hit an Indiana hospital computer network, hospital officials paid hackers roughly $50,000 to unlock the data.ДЄllan Liska, senior security architect at cyberthreat intelligence company Recorded Future, has told CyberScoop that the health care sector has gotten better at defending against less discriminate forms of ransomware but is struggling to cope with SamSamвЂ™s targeted operations.

Or they may believe that these organizations are more likely to pay the ransom.вЂќ

вЂњThe attackers may believe that health care organizations are easier to infect. It is unclear why the group has its sights on the health care sector, Symantec said. вЂњThe group is skilled and resourceful, capable of using tactics and tools more commonly seen in espionage attacks.вЂќ

вЂњSamSam continues to pose a grave threat to organizations in the U.S.,вЂќ a Symantec blog post states. On Tuesday, cybersecurity company Symantec released data showing that of the 67 organizations targeted by the SamSam group in the last 10 months, more than 80 percent are based in the United States. SamSam, which isВ deployed in a more targeted way than other ransomware, hobbled AtlantaвЂ™s municipal agencies in March, and it was reportedly the malwareВ that struck medical-testingВ giant LabCorp in July. The group behind the disruptive SamSam ransomware has attacked 67 different organizations in 2018, nearly a quarter of which were health care organizations, new research shows.

Samsam ransomwhere