Information Technology Security

by Anna Zhadan,  Cyber News The technology giant terminated hundreds of YouTube and Ads accounts for their involvement in coordinated influence operations designed to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, criticize Costa Rican politicians, and upload spam content. Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) updated a bulletin for the second quarter of 2022 detailing all coordinated influence operation campaigns terminated on Google’s platforms over that period. This comes as a part of the platform's initiative to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation. As such, TAG terminated 138 YouTube channels and two Ads accounts for a campaign linked to a Russian consulting firm. The campaign praised Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and expressed critical views of Ukraine and the NATO alliance, disseminating content in Russian. Similarly, 44 YouTube channels and nine Ads accounts were removed for another campaign linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA.) The channels were supporti...

A pair of ransomware attacks crippled parts of the country—and rewrote the rules of cybercrime. For the last two months, Costa Rica has been under siege. Two major ransomware attacks have crippled many of the country’s essential services, plunging the government into chaos as it scrambles to respond. Officials say that international trade ground to a halt as the ransomware took hold and more than 30,000 medical appointments have been rescheduled, while tax payments have also been disrupted. Millions have been lost due to the attacks, and staff at affected organizations have turned to pen and paper to get things done.

By  Krebs On Security Costa Rica’s national health service was hacked sometime earlier this morning by a Russian ransomware group known as Hive . The intrusion comes just weeks after Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves declared a state of emergency in response to a data ransom attack from a different Russian ransomware gang — Conti . Ransomware experts say there is good reason to believe the same cybercriminals are behind both attacks, and that Hive has been helping Conti rebrand and evade international sanctions targeting extortion payouts to cybercriminals operating in Russia. The Costa Rican publication CRprensa.com reports that affected systems at the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) were taken offline on the morning of May 31, but that the extent of the breach was still unclear. The CCSS is responsible for Costa Rica’s public health sector, and worker and employer contributions are mandated by law. A copy of the ransom note left behind by the intruders and subsequen...