1. GERMANY TAKES DOWN HYDRA, WORLD’S LARGEST DARKNET MARKET BY JOE TIDY

The Russian darknet marketplace known as Hydra, which was thought to be the world’s largest darknet market, was seized by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) this past week after receiving a tip regarding the whereabouts of its servers. Running since 2015 and rising to prominence after the Russian Anonymous Marketplace (RAMP) was closed in 2017, Hydra was a hub for the selling of drugs, people’s stolen sensitive information, forged documents, illegal digital services, and more. Here’s how and where Hydra’s seizure occurred, what was confiscated, and what comes next in the investigation.

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2. HACKERS HAVE FOUND A CLEVER NEW WAY TO STEAL YOUR MICROSOFT 365 CREDENTIALS BY SEAD FADILPAŠIĆ

When investigating whether or not a webpage is a phishing scam, it’s common practice to check the page’s URL for inconsistencies. Unfortunately, this is something cybercriminals have now taken into account, and by taking advantage of Azure Static Web Apps that use Microsoft TLS certificates, they trick people into having a false sense of security. Read up on how hackers are able to accomplish this so that you’ll be better prepared if and when they come for your sensitive credentials next.

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3. STRESS PROMPTS EMPLOYEES TO BREAK CYBERSECURITY POLICIES BY ADI GASKELL

A study conducted at the University of Central Florida suggests that a key determinant in employees’ non-adherence to cybersecurity policies is stress levels. Rather than assuming that most insider threats result from frustrated and disgruntled employees, this insightful story from cybernews serves as a reminder that security violations, while still often intentional, are usually benign in nature. Find out more about how the study was conducted, why employees are often compelled to ignore their companies’ security policies, and what can be done to prevent the disregarding of those policies in the future.

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4. WIND TURBINE GIANT NORDEX SHUTS DOWN IT SYSTEMS IN RESPONSE TO CYBERATTACK BY IONUT ARGHIRE

A cyberattack was detected at an early stage this past Thursday, March 31, within Nordex Group’s systems, forcing the company to shut down “IT systems across multiple locations and business units.” Nordex Group, which has specialized in the development, manufacturing, management, and servicing of onshore wind turbines for over 35 years, promptly released a statement after the cyber incident, where they have promised to provide updates as they become available.

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5. STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES BUREAU OF CYBERSPACE AND DIGITAL POLICY by Dark Reading

The newly-created Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy began operations this past Monday, April 4, led by Ambassador-at-Large Jennifer Bachus, former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. According to Bachus, the mission of the bureau is “to elevate cyber and digital diplomacy globally, and to prioritize this work here in Washington and at our embassies and consulates." Here, you can find out more about when and why the bureau was formed, the details about its separate policy units, and its key leaders.

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