Last month, Microsoft issued a patch for a nightmare of a printing issue that some have still not applied. In the meantime, attackers have been taking advantage of this vulnerability to make it a really bad dream for those affected. The issue is within the print spooling functionality, and may allow those attackers to run arbitrary code and do such tasks as install unwanted programs, change and delete data, create new accounts with full access rights, and much more.
Microsoft released security updates in June to address this security vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler, dubbed PrintNightmare and recorded under CVE-2021-34527. While you’re at it, apply all security updates released after July 6, 2021.
New ransomware gangs are actively taking advantage of this, including one called Vice Society. According to reports, this is a relatively new player in the ransomware gang game. They are particularly aggressive, taking advantage of vulnerabilities as soon as they find them. They will also hold data for ransom and threaten to make it public, if their demands are not met.
An older player is the gang, Magniber. They have been active since 2017 and originally used malvertising to spread the ransomware. They have since changed tactics and use vulnerabilities, such as this against users.
The bottom line is to make sure all available patches and particularly, security updates, are applied to avoid letting one of these or other ransomware gangs haunt your waking hours.
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