Information Technology Security

By Sergiu Gatlan, Bleeping Computers Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been tagging Google Chrome updates delivered via Google Update as suspicious activity due to a false positive issue. According to Windows system admins reports, the security solution (formerly known as Microsoft Defender ATP) began marking Chrome updates as suspicious starting last evening. Those who encountered this issue reported seeing "Multi-stage incident involving Execution & Defense evasion" alerts on affected Windows endpoints monitored using Defender for Endpoint. In a Microsoft 365 Defender service advisory issued after reports of these alarming alerts started showing up online, Microsoft revealed that they were erroneously triggered by a false positive and not due to malicious activity. "Admins may receive a false positive alert for Google Update on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint monitored devices," Microsoft said. Roughly one and a half hours later, the advisory was updated, wi...

By  KrebsOnSecurity Conti — one of the most ruthless and successful Russian ransomware groups — publicly declared during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that it would refrain from targeting healthcare providers. But new information confirms this pledge was always a lie, and that Conti has launched more than 200 attacks against hospitals and other healthcare facilities since first surfacing in 2018 under its earlier name, “ Ryuk .” On April 13, Microsoft said it executed a legal sneak attack against Zloader , a remote access trojan and malware platform that multiple ransomware groups have used to deploy their malware inside victim networks. More specifically, Microsoft obtained a court order that allowed it to seize 65 domain names that were used to maintain the Zloader botnet. Microsoft’s civil lawsuit against Zloader names seven “John Does,” essentially seeking information to identify cybercriminals who used Zloader to conduct ransomware attacks. As the company’s complaint ...