This week:

This week, schools have reopened in Ireland. In other good news:

3 – Great police work in Ireland leads to arrests in 21 countries.

2 – Interpol may be getting a GRIP on international cyber crime.

1 – Why a court case is a good news story.

 

3 – Great police work in Ireland leads to arrests in 21 countries

“Operation Jackal III saw officers in body armour carry out raids in 21 countries between April and July 2024, leading to the arrest of 300 people with links to Black Axe and other affiliated groups [..] Interpol’s Jackal Operations have their origins in Ireland. Following a series of police raids by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) in 2020, a handful of Black Axe members were arrested, paving the way for the exposure of a far wider network.”

Summary: A recent global police operation has targeted the notorious Black Axe criminal network. And it all started from some great work by the Irish police force, who have said they have identified 1,000 people in Ireland alone with links to the Black Axe gang.

So what? We have to celebrate these wins, even if the numbers suggest such arrests won’t cause serious disruption to these global gangs. I’m currently reading Rinsed, written by Geoff White (of ‘The Lazarus Heist’ fame). It’s an excellent read, with stunning revelations about how gangs like Black Axe are using the latest tech to get their hands on our money. If it was a work of fiction, you wouldn’t believe it.

Source: BBC News

 

2 – Interpol may be getting a GRIP on international cyber crime

“Interpol has successfully recovered over $40 million stolen in a business email compromise (BEC) attack, showcasing the importance of international collaboration in combating cybercrime.”

Summary: Interpol recently recovered more than $40 million stolen in an attack on a company in Singapore, highlighting the ongoing threat of cyber criminals trying to redirect legitimate payments to bank accounts that they control and the increasing capabilities of law enforcement agencies to deal with these crimes. The recovery was possible because INTERPOL’s new Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) enabled Singaporean police to request assistance from authorities in Timor Leste, resulting in the recovery of almost all of the $42.3m that had been stolen.

So what? While it is great to hear that Interpol now has got (a) GRIP, you should also ensure your business has a grip on its payment processes. If anyone asks for a payment to be sent to a new bank account, it should be double-checked. And triple-checked.

Source: BleepingComputer

 

 

1 – Why is a court case a good news story?

[A US university] has been accused by the US Department of Justice of fraudulently securing millions of dollars in Pentagon contracts by failing to implement the level of security “required by Department of Defence cybersecurity regulations” and submitting “a false cybersecurity assessment score to the Pentagon”.

Summary: The US university may face a day in court after being accused of overstating the level of security that it had in place and underinvesting in its defences, including a failure to “install anti-malware software on devices”. The university has hit back, saying it was told by the US government that it “did not require cybersecurity” due to the nature of the research work it was performing for the Pentagon.

So what? This is a “good news story” because, if the accusations are true, it may make others reconsider the risks of ignoring their security-related contractual obligations. This in turn may help to level the playing field for competitors that are investing the time and money to do the right thing.

Source: CyberScoop (via Secure The Village)