LOS ANGELES - The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning of dangerous ransomware.

In an advisory document released earlier this week, government officials warned that a ransomware-like service called Medusa, which has been carrying out ransomware attacks since 2021, has recently affected hundreds of people. According to CISA, Medusa uses phishing campaigns as its primary method of stealing victims' login credentials.

To protect against ransomware, officials recommended patching operating systems, software and firmware, in addition to using multi-factor authentication for all services such as email and VPNs. Experts also recommended the use of long passwords and warned against frequent password changes as they can weaken security.

Medusa's developers and affiliates - called Medusa actors - use a dual model of extortion, where they "encrypt the victim's data and threaten to publish the exfiltrated data unless a ransom is paid," the advisory states. Medusa operates a data leak site that shows victims a countdown timer alongside a countdown to the release of information.

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