Cyber ops and a side benefit of sanctions. BlackCat wants $5 million from Carinthia. Fraudster pressures Verizon. Spain responds to surveillance scandal. CISA has 5G implementation guidelines.

Pro-Russian hacktivists are expanding their DDoS attacks as part of an international cyber warfare strategy. Cyberattacks against the UK's critical national infrastructure have increased amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Microsoft analysts report that a cyberwar is already happening in Ukraine. The NSA claims that sanctions on Russia are having a positive effect on ransomware attacks, with attempts down due to difficulty collecting ransom payments. The BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware is demanding $5 million to unlock the Austrian state. A hacker has stolen a database of hundreds of Verizon employees. Drupal has released security updates, and Keysight N6854A Geolocation server and N6841A RF Sensor software, along with Horner Automation Cscape Csfont, have been identified as needing security patches. Spain is set to reform its intelligence services following phone hacking allegations and vows to strengthen oversight of secret services after the NSO spying scandal. CISA and the DoD have released a 5G security evaluation process investigation study.