Cyber Security News Roundup – 17th July 2023

It's a new week, and that means a round up of some of the cyber security and data protection news headlines over the last 7 days! To learn more about each story, click the headings.

Razer might have suffered another major data breach

11/7

Razer, an American multinational technology company that produces and sells gaming hardware, has reportedly suffered a data breach that has seen company and customer data stolen and listed for sale for $100,000. A Razer spokesman stated that upon discovery of the breach, the “team immediately conducted a thorough review of all Razer’s websites and have taken all necessary steps to secure our platforms”. The forum listing of the data includes a screenshot as evidence, with the stolen information including lists of files, email addresses, source code for anti-cheat systems in online games, and Razer Gold balances; the user accounts have since been confirmed as genuine. (Tech Radar)

11M HCA Healthcare Patients Impacted by Data Breach

11/7

Healthcare service provider HCA Healthcare, who serve 35 million medical customers per year, has confirmed that the data of 11 million of its patients has been stolen after the company was compromised. Reports regarding the breach emerged on the 5^th of July, when the stolen data was listed for sale on a dark web forum; the listings did not include any mention of ransom demands. HCA Healthcare first confirmed the breach on the 10^th of July, stating that patient data including names, contact information, dates of birth, appointment details, and more were stolen in the cyberattack. Financial information was not compromised. With no knowledge on who is behind the attack, HCA’s investigations are still ongoing. (Dark Reading)

Ransomware payments on record-breaking trajectory for 2023

12/7

Data from a report by blockchain analysis company Chainanalysis has revealed that ransomware is the only cryptocurrency crime category that has seen revenue growth in 2023, with other categories including hacks, scams, malware, abuse material sales, fraud shops, and darknet market revenue recording a steep decline. Having extorted $449.1 million through June, ransomware attackers are now on course for their second-biggest year ever; cumulative ransomware revenue for 2023 has now reached 90% of the full-year figure for 2022. Recently cyber criminals have reverted back to targeting larger organisations due to the potential for large ransom sums, believed by security analysts to be the driving force behind the overall increase in ransomware payments. Infamous criminal operations BlackBasta, LockBit, ALPHV/Blackcat, and Clop are the primary recipients of high payments, with Clop – who have dominated the cyber security headlines in recent weeks – averaging a payment size of $1.7 million. (Bleeping Computer)

London Mayor's Office data breach: Sexual abuse survivor 'appalled' as her personal details may have been accessible online

14/7

Sky News is reporting that a data breach at the London Mayor's Office affecting "around 400 people" is currently under investigation, with one survivor of sexual abuse describing her distress that her personal information may now be publicly available online. The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime has confirmed that the data was accessible for a four-month period, caused by a manual error that “made it technically possible for visitors to temporarily access the content submitted on the two online forms between November 2022 and February 2023”. There is, however, no evidence that any of the information has been misused. The Greater London Authority has conducted a full and thorough investigation, and the Information Commissioner’s Office is now looking at the incident. (Sky News)

Attempted cyber attacks occur every second, and as we can see from the recent headlines, constantly change in nature. It's vital that your organisation is as protected as possible from all forms of cyber crime, so Contact Celerity to find out how we could protect your business!