Google and FBI warn of ransomware group that sends fake IT workers to hack victims in person

Key points

• A ransomware gang has escalated its attacks on law firms by sometimes sending fake IT workers in person to the victims’ offices, where the imposters steal data directly from the victims’ computers using USB drives or help other gang members connect to the computers remotely, according to Google and the FBI.
• On Friday, Google’s cybersecurity teams Mandiant and Google Threat Intelligence Group published a new report accusing the cybercriminal gang known as Silent Ransom Group of attempting to steal victims’ information “using physical, in-person access” in attacks from January through May of this year that targeted “dozens” of victims.
• “Mandiant has investigated various matters where adversaries planted insiders, bribed employees, or physically entered buildings to facilitate cyberattacks,” Mandiant chief technology officer Charles Carmakal told TechCrunch in a statement, adding that the company has seen this tactic used in other cases over the years as well.
• Last month, the FBI published...