Petronella Cybersecurity News

A new twist on an old malware is making a big splash. The malware in question is called Qakbot. It’s a little like ransomware in that it locks files on an infected computer, but it differs in that it locks out Active Directories and steals credentials in order to spread to other nearby systems. Qakbot […]

The WannaCry ransomware attack spread worldwide very quickly in part because it used NSA hacking tools that exploited vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system. WannaCry implemented two of the NSA’s tools, but a new strain of malware threatens to be more dangerous because it uses all seven NSA hacking tools. The new malware is a worm […]

Symantec, a leading cybersecurity firm and creator of, among other products, the popular Norton antivirus software, has announced that it’s highly likely that the perpetrators of the recent WannaCry cyberattack is a hacking group from North Korea known as Lazarus. In case you haven’t kept up with any news in the last week or so, […]

The big news in the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks was how a number of healthcare facilities in the UK had to shut down after being infected.Less reported was the fact that WaanaCry was also discovered in medical devices in the US. The FDA had issued a warning that medical devices were vulnerable to attack. Forbes reported that […]

While the spread of the recent endemic Ransomware has slowed down for now, this incident serves as a reminder to ensure adequate precautions are in place. New forms of this class of malware are deployed often, and several variations of the Wannacrypt edition have already been identified. Official details from government departments involved in the […]

By now you’ve probably heard of the mysterious hacker group called the Shadow Brokers. While they’re not the new kids on the block, their recent claim to fame was releasing zero day exploits stolen from the NSA that led to the worldwide outbreak of the WannaCry ransomware. They’ve decided to monetize their stolen electronic wares in […]

Craig Petronella, NC Top Cybersecurity Expert And IT Authority has put out a major alert to the immediate threat of massive cyberattacks for all businesses. Recent attacks have spread to more than 200,000 businesses in 150 countries in the last two days. Craig Petronella has issued the following warning. “As you probably heard in the […]

By now you’ve probably heard about the massive, worldwide ransomware attack, WannaCry, that has shut down hospitals and giant telecommunication companies. The attacks died down over the weekend, but not before infecting hundreds of thousands of computer systems. The attack started as a phishing campaign, with zip files containing malware posing as documents such as invoices, job […]

We wrote on Friday that 16 hospitals were infected with WannaCry, a new strain of ransomware. In that article, we also mentioned that Spanish telecom Telefonica had been hit with it as well. We now have more details on that attack. The attack wasn’t limited to Spain, though. The company includes several large pan-European companies […]

Sixteen hospitals had to divert patients to other facilities today after a wave of ransomware encrypted vital documents. The 16 hospitals are spread throughout the United Kingdom. The National Health Service has advised patients not to seek medical help except for emergencies and acute ailments. While it’s not known for sure how or why the […]

According to a report by Herjavec Group, the trend for Black Hat Hackers to target not only hospitals but the healthcare industry in general began to skyrocket in 2016.  Unfortunately, that disturbing trend does not appear to be slowing in 2017, nor for the foreseeable future. The problem is that the industry is just too […]

Although no ransom was demanded, it has been determined that San Antonio-based ABCD Children’s Pediatrics’ patient records were compromised in two ways: the Dharma virus, which is in the same family as Crisis ransomware, and by suspicious user accounts on ABCD’s network. It’s believed that the sensitive information of 55,447 patients was stolen. This includes […]

TheDarkOverlord (TDO), a prolific Dark Web hacker, who hacked Netflix and released episodes of Orange is the New Black and is infamous for using Twitter to shame the organization that s/he has breached, made good on his/her Autumn promise to make stolen patient data public if an extortion demand was not paid. TDO was able to steal […]

A hacker known as “Skyscraper” reported that the records of approximately 500,000 children and their parents can be found on the dark web by simply searching “patients.”  While most of these records originate from compromised pediatricians using outdated software, still another 200,000 were actually taken from schools.   These records can be bought for around […]

You probably heard of the ransomware attack on the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center from last year. The hospital had to pay $17,000 in Bitcoin to regain access to its patient data. (And that’s just the beginning of the financial fallout from a healthcare cyber-attack) They found that the malware that encrypted their data entered their […]

Have you ever looked at America’s debt clock? Take a seat before you do, because it’s the type of horror that you can’t put into words. The basic idea behind governments issuing money is that a government has assets worth a certain amount. They print and issue money that represents the same value of a […]

A new phishing campaign is making the rounds, fooling tons of Google users into giving hackers access to their Gmail accounts. Here’s how it works. You get an email from someone you know who has sent you a Google Doc attachment. When you click the attachment, you go to a page that looks like a Google […]

When a company is hit by a cyber-attack, it’s embarrassing. It doesn’t matter if they took the proper precautions and were just unlucky, when one company is hacked and another is not the company that hasn’t been hit is going to be more attractive to customers no matter what. Don’t believe it? Check out our […]

Want to know why databases are dangerous? It’s as simple as putting all your eggs in one basket. If something happens to that basket, you’re out of eggs. But when it comes to databases, those eggs are people’s information. Email addresses, phone numbers, and full names are stored in a database and also happen to […]

With rising concerns over troubled financial institutions, many people may decide that burying their money in the desert a la Heisenberg might be a more practical solution than trusting their bank.  However, it might not be time – not just yet, anyway. Regardless of the many bankruptcies, takeovers, and mergers, most of our banks are still […]