While You Were Doomscrolling: Medusa Ransomware Hits 500+ Victims (And Your Spaghetti Sauce Might Be Listening to You)

Plus, everything you might have missed here at SonicWall over the past month. 

September is finally here. And, if you aren’t trapped in this eternal heatwave with many of us, maybe you’re starting to experience some fall weather? The past month has, as usual, been an interesting one for cybersecurity. We’re covering the growing Medusa ransomware threat. News and events from SonicWall. And does your jar of marinara sauce want to hear you complain about traffic?

The New NSA (Nosey Spaghetti Agency?)

Full disclosure, this happened in April, not this past month, but it's too wacky not to share: Prego, yes, of jarred pasta sauce fame, has been turning heads this year as they rolled out their limited edition Connection Keeper. Prego teamed up with StoryCorps to produce 100 little...puck things...that you set at your dinner table, press record, and choose whether to upload the data to StoryCorps or not. The intention is to never forget arguing with your uncle about politics at Thanksgiving. Reactions from people online have ranged from confusion about the marinara sauce manufacturer's interest in this field to concerns about data being held by, again, a spaghetti sauce company. The device is completely offline and uploading the conversations is optional, but alas, I don't make the products, I just bring them to your attention. What do you think of this? Is it a neat, albeit quirky, product? Or is it...weird?

Medusa Victims Spike, Healthcare Beware

On August 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) updated their joint advisory on Medusa, which is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that’s been steadily ticking up it’s activity since 2021. And this unfortunately isn’t a “Ladies and gentlemen…we got ‘em” update. They’re reporting that Medusa has actually surpassed 500 victims now, up 65% from 300 in roughly one year. 

Medusa runs on a double-extortion model, encrypting a victim's data while also threatening to leak it publicly if the ransom isn't paid. The updated advisory adds new detail on how Medusa's affiliate network operates, including how much initial access brokers get paid to hand over a foothold, and a longer list of vulnerabilities the group exploits to get in.

The sectors hit read like a list of the targets that can least afford downtime: healthcare, education, legal, insurance, technology, and manufacturing. HHS signing on as a co-author of this update is itself telling. It signals that hospitals and health systems remain a persistent, priority target, not an incidental one.

The agencies' core recommendations are the fundamentals that tend to get deprioritized until it's too late: keep systems patched on a risk-informed timeline, segment networks so a single compromised device can't become a company-wide incident, and filter traffic so untrusted sources can't reach internal systems in the first place.

What’s Up at SonicWall

Mark your calendar:

• Sept. 22: A deep dive on getting Cloud Secure Edge up and running

Two SonicWall experts, one live demo, zero PowerPoint filler. See Cloud Secure Edge go from concept to configured in 30 minutes.

• Sept. 23: Episode 3 of our alert-correlation series, 99 Problems and Alerts Are All of Them

Alone, an alert is just a cry for attention. Together, across dozens of environments, alerts start gossiping and SonicSentry is here to translate.

• Oct. 8: Closing the encrypted traffic blind spot without the HTTPS headache

Malware loves a locked door nobody checks. This 30-minute session shows how CSE opens that door safely, automates the cert paperwork, and inspects files 10x the size your firewall would even bother with.

Worth a read:

• Closing the Encrypted Traffic Blind Spot with Cloud Secure Edge

Your firewall can't stop what it can't see. Unmask the threats lurking in HTTPS traffic with cloud-based TLS inspection that actually keeps up.

• You Are Not Too Small to Be a Target

Ransomware doesn't do background checks on company size. This brief shows SMBs how to punch above their weight class on cybersecurity, budget included.

• Report Card: Education Is the Most Attacked Network Environment in SonicWall's Telemetry

Turns out "most attacked network" isn't the honor roll spot schools were hoping for. See why education tops SonicWall's threat class rankings.

• The End of the Endpoint Security Tradeoff

Choosing between cheap antivirus and real protection is like choosing between a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher. Why not both? SonicWall Endpoint Security says you don't have to pick.

In case you need a headline:

• We expanded Cloud Secure Edge with three new points of presence

Zero Trust just got three new passport stamps. See where CSE landed!

• We beefed up MSP endpoint protection

SonicWall's new Endpoint Security gives MSPs the EDR big enterprises use, minus the big enterprise invoice. Threats: not thrilled about it."

• We swept the 2026 ARC Awards in enterprise network security (humble brag, sue us)

Proof that "clean sweep" isn't just a networking term: SonicWall topped every subcategory in CRN's 2026 ARC Awards, straight from the partners who'd know.

• Promo alert: Zero Trust Network Access is on sale. 

Fast deployment, lower cost, and a free bonus product. The only "buy one get one" deal your CFO will actually approve.

Defense of the Month

At SonicWall, we help you with every kind of defense, even the highly undervalued Fantasy Football defense. So here's our pick for a fantasy defense that can carry you through the first four weeks of the NFL season. Which has already started off with some important lessons:

The Kansas City Chiefs

Steve Spagnuolo’s defense is always a menace, but fantasy managers sometimes shy away from taking them early due to Chiefs games turning into high-scoring shootouts. But their first four matchups of the season might have you thinking differently.

• Week 1: Denver Broncos
• Week 2: Indianapolis Colts
• Week 3: @ Miami Dolphins
• Week 4: @ Las Vegas Raiders

The Broncos and Colts should both be solid, but you get them both in home prime-time spots to kick off the year, where Arrowhead crowd noise will force heavy pre-snap penalties and long dropback situations. Spag's blitz-heavy scheme will have plenty of opportunities to shine against the Dolphins and Raiders especially. 

We almost picked the Rams. Good thing we waited til after last night!

But if you’re a fan of streaming defenses, our pick for week 1 is the Jacksonville Jaguars who have an enticing matchup against the Cleveland Browns. We’ll have a monthly defensive pick in each edition of this blog, all season.