Fintech
FinTech Evolve Bancorp hit by severe ransomware attack
In many ways, it was the summer of cyber attacks AND data breaches.
And with the news Russia-linked Lockbit ransomware gang claims to have stolen 33 terabytes of “juicy banking information containing American banking secrets” from the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday (June 25), taking down cyber defenses is once again a priority for organizations critical for security and financial institutions (FIs).
For reference, around 6.5 million documents can be stored in a single terabyte.
“It is better to hire another negotiator within 48 hours and fire this clinical idiot who values Americans’ banking secrecy at $50,000,” LockBit representatives reported She said after the negotiations failed.
That’s because, on Wednesday (June 26), the ransomware group released a large cache of files posted on 21 separate links belonging to Evolve Bank and Trust, the U.S. financial institution and banking partner of FinTech has collapsed Synapses.
Wednesday’s release of what is reported which were supposed to be the main directories of Evolve Bank, torrents and compressed archive files containing plaintext files with end-user personal information including SSN, card PAN, wire transfer and settlement files arrived after LockBit ransom demands were not met.
“Evolve is currently investigating a cybersecurity incident involving a known cybercriminal organization. It appears that these attackers have released illegally obtained data onto the dark web. We take this matter extremely seriously and are working tirelessly to address the situation,” a spokesperson for Evolve Bank told PYMNTS.
This remains a developing story.
to know more: Evolve Was Served a Cease and Desist Order: Now What?
Safeguard the bank’s IT operations from threats
As reports of LockBit infiltrations and thefts began to surface and circulate earlier this week, Evolve reportedly sent an email to customers of its Open Banking division confirming the reports and stating that, in collaboration with “law enforcement and government agencies”, the situation is being investigated.
The hack is just the latest bad news for the bank, which, along with its subsidiary Evolve Bank and Trust, occurred on June 14 released a “cease and desist” order by the Federal Reserve Board.
While the issuing of the cease and desist order remains independent The role of Evolve in progress Synapse failure proceeding, the Fed’s rebuke actually cited the bank’s IT practices and focused on addressing what it called “deficiencies” in risk management and compliance, requiring the FI to develop a plan and timetable to correct its deficiencies IT security.
Evolve, as reported on its websitepartners with a wide range of FinTechs including Affirm, Stripe, Mercury, Airwallex, Alloy, Bond (now part of FIS), Branch, Dave, EarnIn, TabaPay and many others.
“If FinTechs were defined as “digital first”, with a better user experience and interface, the winners of the future would combine this with a focus on the back officeon compliance, settlement and reporting, and working closely with their banking partners to ensure they don’t get into trouble”, Jim McCarthyCEO of Threddhe told PYMNTS.
To know more: A new wave of serious cyberattacks highlights key corporate security weaknesses
Ransomware attacks and data breaches increase as the world goes digital
LockBit, the ransomware group that claims to be behind the attack, is already in its third iteration as a criminal institution.
In February, international law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, two arrested members of the LockBit gang and seized the group’s web infrastructure as part of a wide-ranging takedown operation. Era valued as of early 2023 LockBit itself was responsible for 44% of all ransomware incidents globally.
THE The FBI’s latest annual report on Internet crimepublished this spring, revealed that the financial damage to the United States is due to ransomware attacks increased by 74% in 2023. Already in 2024 the business landscape has witnessed a staggering cyber attack ON Change Healthcarethe billing and payments unit owned by UnitedHealthcarethat caused complete disruptions at health clinics, medical billing companies and pharmacies.
The ransomware attack ultimately it costs money UnitedHealthcare, $872 million, and the company said the breach was caused by a ransomware gang known as ALPHV or Black Cat.
Since then the attacks have not stopped. As PYMNTS reported, a “significant volume of data” was stolen from at least 165 customers of the multi-cloud data warehousing platform Snowflake on June 10 and Thursday of this week it was revealed from which the data was stolen LoanTree subsidiary Guided quote obtained during the Snowflake breach is sold to the highest bidder on cybercriminal forums.
Even the hackers themselves are reportedly demanding Ransom payments ranging from $300,000 to $5 million from other hacked companies.
And with the last PYMNTS Intelligence in “How the world experiences digital“, a groundbreaking study on the global digital behavior of 67,000 consumers in 11 countries representing approximately 50% of global GDP, highlighting that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and dependent: maintaining secure cyber hygiene and reducing surface of critical attacks only increase importance for businesses.
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