Microsoft: Iranian Nation-State Group Sanctioned by U.S. Behind Charlie Hebdo Hack

An Iranian nation-state group sanctioned by the U.S. government has been attributed to the hack of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in early January 2023. Microsoft, which disclosed details of the incident, is tracking the activity cluster under its chemical element-themed moniker...

Real-World Steganography

From an article about Zheng Xiaoqing, an American convicted of spying for China: According to a Department of Justice DOJ indictment, the US citizen hid confidential files stolen from his employers in the binary code of a digital photograph of a sunset, which Mr Zheng then mailed to himself...

Spyware Maker Intellexa Sued by Journalist

The Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis was spied on by his own government, with a commercial spyware product called "Predator." That product is sold by a company in North Macedonia called Cytrox, which is in turn owned by an Israeli company called Intellexa. Koukakis is suing Intellexa. The lawsu...

How Iran Tried to Undermine the 2020 US Presidential Election

From faked emails to a hacked voter registration database, a new indictment offers fresh details on the attempted interference...

TrickBot Coder Faces Decades in Prison

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday the arraignment of a Latvian for her alleged role in creating and operating the infamous TrickBot malware. Alla Witte, who is known in cybercrime circles by the handle “Max,” was arrested in February in Miami. According to the indictment, she’s o...

FBI Analyst Indicted for Theft of Osama bin Laden Threat Intel

An FBI analyst with top-secret security clearance illegally squirreled away national-security documents related to Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, cybersecurity and more in her home for years, the feds say. Kendra Kingsbury, who was working in the FBI’s Kansas City Division until being put on leave in...

A week in security (April 19 – 25)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we interviewed Youssef Sammouda, a 21-year-old bug bounty hunter who is focused on finding vulnerabilities on Facebook. We looked into the CodeCov supply-chain attack, the vulnerabilities in Pulse Secure VPN that are being actively exploited by attackers, and the...

22-Year-Old Charged With Hacking Water System and Endangering Lives

A 22-year-old man from the U.S. state of Kansas has been indicted on charges that he unauthorizedly accessed a public water facility's computer system, jeopardizing the residents' safety and health in the local community. Wyatt A. Travnichek, 22, of Ellsworth County, Kansas, has been charged with...

A Homecoming Queen Was Arrested for Alleged Vote Hacking

Plus: A mysterious zero-day spree, a high-profile hacker indictment, and more of the week’s top security news...

U.S. Charges 3 North Korean Hackers Over $1.3 Billion Cryptocurrency Heist

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ on Wednesday indicted three suspected North Korean hackers for allegedly conspiring to steal and extort over $1.3 billion in cash and cryptocurrencies from financial institutions and businesses. The three defendants — Jon Chang Hyok, 31; Kim Il, 27; and Park Jin...

U.S. Accuses DPRK Hackers of Stealing Millions

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted three North Korean computer programmers for their alleged participation in widespread, destructive cyberattacks as part of the advanced persistent threat APT known as Lazarus Group. The indictment broadens the scope of crimes that the DoJ has linked to...

British Court Rejects U.S. Request to Extradite WikiLeaks' Julian Assange

A British court has rejected the U.S. government's request to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the country on charges pertaining to illegally obtaining and sharing classified material related to national security. In a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court today, Judge Vanessa...

APT41 Operatives Indicted as Sophisticated Hacking Activity Continues

UPDATE Five alleged members of the APT41 threat group have been indicted by a federal grand jury, in two separate actions that were unsealed this week. Meanwhile, the Department of Treasury also imposed sanctions on individuals and organizations associated with Iran-linked APT39. APT41 a.k.a...

DoJ Indicts Two Hackers for Defacing Websites with Pro-Iran Messages

The Department of Justice DoJ has indicted two hackers – including one teenager – for allegedly vandalizing more than 50 websites hosted in the U.S. with pro-Iran messages. The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, indicts Behzad Mohammadzadeh, a national of the Islamic Republic of Iran who is believe...

Amazon Supplier Fraud

Interesting story of an Amazon supplier fraud: According to the indictment, the brothers swapped ASINs for items Amazon ordered to send large quantities of different goods instead. In one instance, Amazon ordered 12 canisters of disinfectant spray costing $94.03. The defendants allegedly shipped...

A Former Uber Exec's Indictment Is a Warning Shot

Prosecutors allege that former Uber security chief Joseph Sullivan covered up a major breach, in the first high-profile case of its kind...

US Charges 2 Chinese Hackers for Targeting COVID-19 Research and Trade Secrets

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ yesterday revealed charges against two Chinese nationals for their alleged involvement in a decade-long hacking spree targeting dissidents, government agencies, and hundreds of organizations in as many as 11 countries. The 11-count indictment, which was unsealed...

Chinese Hackers Charged in Decade-Long Crime and Spying Spree

From defense contractors to videogame companies, the indictment details an astonishing array of victims...

WikiLeaks Founder Charged With Conspiring With LulzSec & Anonymous Hackers

The United States government has filed a superseding indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accusing him of collaborating with computer hackers, including those affiliated with the infamous LulzSec and "Anonymous" hacking groups. The new superseding indictment does not contain any...

WikiLeaks Founder Charged With Conspiring With LulzSec & Anonymous Hackers

The United States government has filed a superseding indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accusing him of collaborating with computer hackers, including those affiliated with the infamous LulzSec and "Anonymous" hacking groups. The new superseding indictment does not contain any...