FBI Reports Hacker Group After US Law Firms (Again)

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cyber Division (Internet Crime Complaint Center) has issued a warning that certain malicious cyber actors are targeting law firms.  Law firms are a ripe target for valuable information concerning clients, including intellectual property.  The warning states, in part:

The cyber threat actor Silent Ransom Group (SRG), also known as Luna Moth, Chatty Spider, and UNC3753, is targeting law firms using information technology (IT) themed social engineering calls, and callback phishing emails, to gain remote access to systems or devices and steal sensitive data to extort the victims. While SRG has historically victimized companies in many sectors, starting Spring 2023, the group has consistently targeted US-based law firms, likely due to the highly sensitive nature of legal industry data. . . .

As of March 2025, SRG was observed changing their tactics to calling individuals and posing as an employee from their company’s IT department. SRG will then direct the employee to join a remote access session, either through an email sent to them, or navigating to a web page. Once the employee grants access to their device, they are told that work needs to be done overnight. Once in the victim’s device, a typical SRG attack involves minimal privilege escalation and quickly pivots to data exfiltration conducted through “WinSCP” (Windows Secure Copy) or a hidden or renamed version of “Rclone.” If the compromised device does not have administrative privileges, WinSCP portable is used to exfiltrate victim data. Although this tactic has only been observed recently, it has been highly effective and resulted in multiple compromises. Similar to their phishing emails posing as a company with a subscription, once SRG exfiltrates data, they extort the victim by sending them a ransom email threatening to sell or post the data online. SRG will also call employees at a victim company to pressure them into engaging in ransom negotiations. SRG has developed a publicly available site to post victim data, however, they are inconsistent in their use of the site, and do not always follow through on posting victim data.

University of Arkansas Professor Misleads FBI Concerning Role in Chinese Patents

A University of Arkansas professor has pled guilty to misrepresenting the existence of patents in China to FBI.  The U.S. Department of Justice Press Release states:

An Arkansas man and University of Arkansas Professor pleaded guilty today to one count of making a false statement to the FBI about the existence of patents for his inventions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 64, of Fayetteville, entered a guilty plea to count 58 on a superseding indictment charging him with making a materially false and fictitious statement and representation to an FBI Special Agent. According to court documents, 24 patents filed in the People’s Republic of China bear Ang’s name or Chinese birth name. The University of Arkansas, where Ang worked as a professor, required individuals such as Ang to promptly furnish to the University “full and complete” disclosures of inventions, and University policy provided that it, not individual inventors, would own all inventions created by those subject to the policy. This policy was established “in furtherance of the commitment of the University to the widest possible distribution of the benefits of University Research, the protection of Inventions resulting from such research, and the development of Inventions for the public good.”

Despite this requirement, Ang did not disclose his Chinese patents to the university and, when interviewed by an FBI agent, lied about his involvement in the inventions. Specifically, when asked whether his name would be listed as “the inventor” of numerous patents in China, Ang denied being the inventor, despite knowing he was. In addition, Ang also received numerous talent awards from the PRC government, which he did not list on the university’s annual conflict of interest disclosure forms.

Ang’s sentencing is expected to take place in approximately four months. Ang faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison for the crime for which he pleaded guilty, however, the plea agreement also states that if the court wishes to sentence Ang to a sentence that is not a year and a day in federal prison, Ang will have the right to withdraw from the plea agreement. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The FBI, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), NASA Office of Inspector General and Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the case.