Nov 28, 2018

Iranian nationals indicted for ransomware campaign

Photo: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A federal grand jury indicted two Iranian nationals on Wednesday for a widespread "SamSam" ransomware campaign that targeted hospitals, public services and businesses, causing more than $30 million in losses over nearly three years.

The big picture: The indictment does not include an allegation that the Iranian government was involved in the campaign, which claimed more than 200 victims, including the city of Atlanta. The criminals ultimately received over $6 million in ransomware payments, although it is unclear if victims got their data back unencrypted, FBI Executive Assistant Director Amy S. Hess told reporters at a press briefing.

Go deeper: Cyber incidents doubled globally in 2017

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Axios
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Louisville officer: "Breonna Taylor would be alive" if we had served no-knock warrant

Breonna Taylor memorial in Louisville. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, the Louisville officer who led the botched police raid that caused the death of Breonna Taylor, said the No. 1 thing he wishes he had done differently is either served a "no-knock" warrant or given five to 10 seconds before entering the apartment: "Breonna Taylor would be alive, 100 percent."

Driving the news: Mattingly, who spoke to ABC News and Louisville's Courier Journal for his public interview, was shot in the leg in the initial moments of the March 13 raid. Mattingly did not face any charges after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he and another officer were "justified" in returning fire to protect themselves against Taylor's boyfriend.

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Scott Rosenberg, Ashley Gold, Kyle Daly
2 hours ago - Technology

U.S. vs. Google — the siege begins

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The Justice Department fired the starter pistol on what's likely to be a years-long legal siege of Big Tech by the U.S. government when it filed a major antitrust suit Tuesday against Google.

The big picture: Once a generation, it seems, federal regulators decide to take on a dominant tech company. Two decades ago, Microsoft was the target; two decades before that, IBM.

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Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Why the stimulus delay isn't a crisis (yet)

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

If the impasse between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House on a new stimulus deal is supposed to be a crisis, you wouldn't know it from the stock market, where prices continue to rise.

  • That's been in no small part because U.S. economic data has held up remarkably well in recent months thanks to the $2 trillion CARES Act and Americans' unusual ability to save during the crisis.
Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow