Ransomware scumbags leak Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX documents after contractor refuses to pay Internal confidential documents belonging to some of the largest aerospace companies in the world have been stolen from an industrial contractor and leaked online. The data was pilfered and dumped on the internet by the criminals behind the DoppelPaymer Windows ransomware, in retaliation for an unpaid extortion demand. The …
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/05/new_jersey_cobol_volunteers_mainframes/
40 year old systems ?!?
That's known as "being led by donkeys".
I can't really say I feel sorry for Lockheed Martin.. They have a history of thuggery themselves (bribing at the highest levels of the Dutch government for example): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals . No love here for the Military Industrial Complex in general anyway.
SpaceX's work I really do applaud though and I'm sad they were hit by this.
Ffs Microshit, sort this out already.
1. How hard can it be allow a user to only allow apps they recognise to create/modify/delete files in standard user folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos)?
2. Disable VB script by default, allowing users to turn it on on a case by case basis
3. Granted, any user daft enough to enable macros when opening a random file deserves what they get.
I reckon that should prevent most if not all ransomware dead in its tracks?
Yes I know most end point infections are the result of user error, but that's exactly why it's Microsoft's job to make a secure operating system.
Allowing random snippets of code carte blanche access to user files is not my idea of a secure operating environment.
Fewer infections leads to less money for the criminals which leads to even fewer infections till it basically becomes a worthless endeavour for the criminally minded.
"Yes I know most end point infections are the result of user error, but that's exactly why it's Microsoft's job to make a secure operating system."
But as the saying goes, you can't fix stupid. You can't save the user from himself. If the user wants a system they can get under the good, either Microsoft delivers to the user's satisfaction or the user takes his/her money elsewhere, leaving Microsoft in the lurch. See the problem?
IOW, if Windows throws up a warning that says, "Potentially dangerous attachment," and the user opens it anyway, then blames Microsoft for letting them get infected, what else can you do?
Well, now that military data has been stolen and distributed, whoever is running the scam can add espionage and possibly treason to the charges they will face, possibly even terrorism, which may be enough to allow international cooperation that didn't exist before, and extradition. Congrats guys, you've graduated to the big leagues. I'm sure there's a cell at Guantanamo with your name on it and a plausible explanation as to why you just disappeared..
"which may be enough to allow international cooperation"
LOL - you don't appear to have realised that 'King Trump is trying to start wars with anyone who will take him on. The may be trade wars - but they are still wars, as they are designed to inflict casualties.
When you attack so-called allies, don't be surprised if they don't have your back.
What baffles me is why someonelike Lookheed doesnt just emply some more hackers to fight thes scum back. The website they dump the docs on for example, is an obvious target. This is war ,surely.Put out a ransom dead or alive on the entire mob, $100,000 a head, somone will soon grass them up.
From the article: When the company failed to pay the ransom by their March deadline, the gang – which tends to demand hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to restore encrypted files – uploaded a selection of the documents to a website that remains online and publicly accessible.
At least Visser got some of the information back - and they didn't have to pay.
More seriously: They also got a clue as to how long the bad guys had been in their system; long enough to steal the data before encrypting it in place. At least, I hope they reacted and didn't allow the encrypted data to leave their system after the ransom demand. If I was running a ransomware racket, I'd want to take a close look at any data that the target was prepared to pay to get back.
Are we going to stop coddling these fiends? Look, find them, do not arrest them. Put a TOW through their front door, douse the remains in kerosene and set it alight. Shoot anyone who comes out.
It's time to treat these people no better than 17th century pirates; kill them on sight.
That seems a bit drastic for a situation where no one was physically harmed, though I wouldn't shed too many tears if this became the policy. Might want to see if there are innocent family members present, and probably not a great idea if your (presumably properly investigated, tried, and convicted) suspect lives in an an apartment block..
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