To help organizations protect against ransomware, CISA, the FBI, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) released a cybersecurity advisory  warning organizations about the Phobos ransomware, and provided indicators of compromise and tactics, techniques, and procedures used by Phobos as recently as February.

According to the advisory, Phobos has been attacking “municipal and county governments, emergency services, education, public healthcare, and other critical infrastructure entities to successfully ransom several million U.S. dollars.” Phobos threat actors gain access to networks through phishing campaigns, searching for vulnerable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) ports, including on Microsoft Windows environments, then use brute force tools to gain access and activate RDP authentication.

The advisory provides specific recommendations on mitigation to assist companies in reducing the risk of becoming a victim, which are worth checking out.

Photo of Linn Foster Freedman Linn Foster Freedman

Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services Cyber-Compliance Team, and chairs the firm’s Data Privacy and Security and Artificial Intelligence Teams. Linn focuses her…

Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services Cyber-Compliance Team, and chairs the firm’s Data Privacy and Security and Artificial Intelligence Teams. Linn focuses her practice on compliance with all state and federal privacy and security laws and regulations. She counsels a range of public and private clients from industries such as construction, education, health care, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, utilities and critical infrastructure, marine and charitable organizations, on state and federal data privacy and security investigations, as well as emergency data breach response and mitigation. Linn is an Adjunct Professor of the Practice of Cybersecurity at Brown University and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Roger Williams University School of Law.  Prior to joining the firm, Linn served as assistant attorney general and deputy chief of the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s Office for the State of Rhode Island. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law and her B.A., with honors, in American Studies from Newcomb College of Tulane University. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.