On the Apple/FBI Hearing, Viber Adding End-to-End Encryption, TeslaCrypt and More

Mike Mimoso and Chris Brook discuss the news of the week, including BlackBerry CEO’s stance on lawful access principles, the FBI/Apple hearing, Viber adding end-to-end encryption, Teslacrypt, and more. Download: ThreatpostNewsWrapApril222016.mp3 Music by Chris Gonsalves...

FBI paid Hacker $1.3 Million to Unlock San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone

In Brief Guess how much the FBI has paid an unknown grey-hat hacker to break into San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone? FBI Director James Comey hinted during an interview that the FBI spent more than $1.3 Million for breaking into the iPhone of a suspected terrorist and found nothing useful on it...

Creators of SpyEye Virus Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison

In Brief Two International hackers, Aleksandr Andreevich Panin and Hamza Bendelladj, have been sentenced to a combined 24 years and 6 months in prison for their roles in developing and distributing SpyEye banking trojan, a powerful botnet similar to the infamous ZeuS malware. Both hackers were...

Apple and FBI Faceoff at House Encryption Hearing

Representatives from Apple and the FBI testified Tuesday at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the ongoing encryption debate. Both vowed to work cooperatively to move past the current encryption impasse and find common ground. They also used the hearing to clarify stances on...

Viber adds End-to-End Encryption and PIN protected Hidden Chats features

In Brief Viber, the popular mobile messaging app announced Tuesday that it has added full end-to-end encryption for video, voice and text message services for its millions of users. Here, the end-to-end encryption means only you and the person you are communicating with can read the content, and...

Hackers can spy on your calls and track location, using just your phone number

In Brief The famous ‘60 Minutes’ television show shocked some viewers Sunday evening when a team of German hackers demonstrated how they spied on an iPhone used by U.S. Congressman, then recorded his phone calls and tracked his movement through Los Angeles. Hackers leverage a security flaw in SS7...

California Kills Phone Decryption Bill

Civil liberty groups and tech firms are celebrating the defeat of a controversial California bill that would have forced phone makers to decrypt their devices by court order. The proposed legislation, AB 1681, died when lawmakers refused to give the bill a vote. But opponents of the bill, who...

Report: Nothing useful found on San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone

The San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone that the Department of Justice DoJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI said was critical in their investigation has absolutely nothing useful on it, at least so far. Yes, the same iPhone that was subject of so much attention from the past few months...

So, FBI Director also Puts Tape Over His Webcam

What do you do to protect your 'Privacy' while using your computer? FBI Director James Comey uses tape to cover up his laptop webcam to ensure Privacy. Yes, you heard it right. During the Q&A session at Kenyon College last week, Comey said that he uses tape to cover his laptop webcam in order to...

Forensic Firm that Unlocked Terrorist's iPhone 5C is Close to Crack iPhone 6

The FBI didn't disclose the identity of the third-party company that helped them access the San Bernardino iPhone, but it has been widely believed that the Israeli mobile forensic firm Cellebrite was hired by the FBI to put an end to the Apple vs. FBI case. For those unfamiliar in the Apple vs. F...

FBI Quietly Admits to Multi-Year APT Attack, Sensitive Data Stolen

The FBI issued a rare bulletin admitting that a group named Advanced Persistent Threat 6 APT6 hacked into US government computer systems as far back as 2011 and for years stole sensitive data. The FBI alert was issued in February and went largely unnoticed. Nearly a month later, security experts...

In Keynote Comey Challenges Absolute Privacy

The method the FBI used to unlock the San Bernardino killer’s iPhone 5C does not work on newer models, FBI Director James Comey told a crowd of students on Wednesday night. In a Q&A following a keynote address at Kenyon College’s Expectation of Privacy conference in Gambier, Ohio, Comey spoke...

FBI claims its iPhone Hacking Tool can't Unlock iPhone 5S, 6S and 6S Plus

Although everyone, including Apple, was worried about the iPhone hacking tool used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI to access data on iPhone belonged to the San Bernardino shooter, the FBI director said the hack does not work on an iPhone 5S or later. FBI Director James Comey said...

'Hacking Team' Loses License to Sell Surveillance Malware Outside Europe

Hacking Team – the infamous Italy-based spyware company that had more than 400 GB of its confidential data stolen last year – is facing another trouble. This time not from other hackers, but from its own government. Hacking Team is infamous for selling surveillance spyware to governments and...

WhatsApp Adds End-to-End Encryption To One Billion Users

The world’s largest online communications company WhatsApp, with one billion users, announced Tuesday it added end-to-end encryption to its entire platform. The move is seen as a major win for security and privacy advocates. It also shifts the encryption spotlight away from Apple and its battle...

Ransomware attacks on Hospitals put Patients at Risk

Just last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI issued an urgent "Flash" message to the businesses and organisations about the threat of Samsam Ransomware, but the ransomware has already wreaked havoc on some critical infrastructure. MedStar, a non-profit group that runs 10 hospitals in t...

Reddit Removes NSL Warrant Canary from Transparency Report

Reddit’s latest transparency report is missing a nugget of information that was present in a previous report. Last year’s report included a warrant canary which stated that as of Jan. 29, 2015, Reddit had never received a National Security Letter, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order or...

FBI Cracks the iPhone, Scourge of Ransomware Hits Hospitals, and the Hack the Pentagon Program

Mike Mimoso and Chris Brook recap the week in news, including how the FBI cracked that iPhone, the barrage of ransomware hitting hospitals, and the Hack the Pentagon bug bounty trial program announcement. Download: ThreatpostNewsWrap-April12016.mp3 Music by Chris Gonsalves...

FBI Mum on How it Hacked Tor Browser

As Apple’s attorneys mull over their legal options for having the FBI explain how it hacked Syed Farook’s iPhone, a separate case playing out involving the security service and the anonymity software Tor may have a hand in predicting the outcome. According to a court filing earlier this week, the...

Just One? No, FBI to Unlock More iPhones with its Secret Technique

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI worked with Israeli mobile forensic firm Cellebrite to unlock iPhone used in the San Bernardino shooting last year, confirmed by multiple sources familiar with the matter. The United States Department of Justice DoJ said on Tuesday that the FBI successfully...