TikTok is being discouraged and the app may be banned

In recent news retail giant Amazon sent a memo to employees telling them to delete the popular social media app TikTok from their phones. In the memo it stated that the app would pose a security risk without going into details. Later the memo was withdrawn without an explanation except that it wa...

Lock and Code S1Ep5: Mythbusting and understanding VPNs with JP Taggart

This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs and around the Internet. In addition, we talk to JP Taggart, senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, about VPNs—debunking their myths, explaining their actual capabilities, and providing some advice...

Explained: war shipping

Yesterday, Mike from the mailroom came up and asked whether I knew anyone called “Simon Smith.” He received an envelope addressed to our company and to the attention of Mr. Smith, but there was no one by that name on his list of employees. It wasn’t on mine either and HR was unaware of a person b...

The global data privacy roadmap: a question of risk

For most American businesses, complying with US data privacy laws follows a somewhat linear, albeit lengthy, path. Set up a privacy policy, don’t lie to the consumer, and check the specific rules if you’re a health care provider, video streaming company, or kids’ app maker. For American businesse...

A week in security (January 7 – 13)

Last week on the Malwarebytes Labs blog, we took a look at the Ryuk ransomware attack causing trouble over the holidays, as well as a ransom threat for an Irish transportation company. We explored the realm of SSN scams, and looked at what happens when an early warning system is attacked. Other...

Spoofed addresses and anonymous sending: new Gmail bugs make for easy pickings

Tim Cotten, a software developer from Washington, DC, was responding to a request for help from a female colleague last week, who believed that her Gmail account has been hacked, when he discovered something phishy. The evidence presented was several emails in her Sent folder, purportedly sent by...

Mac malware intercepts encrypted web traffic for ad injection

Last week, Malwarebytes researcher Adam Thomas found an interesting new piece of Mac malware that exhibits some troubling behaviors, including intercepting encrypted web traffic to inject ads. Let's take a closer look at this adware, which Malwarebytes for Mac detects as OSX.SearchAwesome, to see...

5 safe ways to get back at spammers: a guide to wasting time

Everyone hates spam apart from the people who send it. While many people simply report spam and delete, a few look for ways to get back at the spammers wasting their time. In fact, a common question we’re asked is, “How can we waste their time?” My own opinion on this is a little loaded with...

A week in security (August 20 – August 26)

Last week on Labs, we took a look at insider threats, doubled back on the privacy of search browser extensions, profiled green card scams, revisited Defcon badgelife, and talked about what happens to a user's accounts when they die. Other cybersecurity news There was an archiving error in Twitch...

Mobile Menace Monday: Fake WhatsApp can steal info from your phone

Last month, a blogger at My Online Security reported receiving a spam comment containing WhatsApp Plus. Going through the process, they downloaded an APK of this so-called WhatsApp Plus. Where they ended was as stated, I am not certain exactly what this does, but from the sandbox reports it looks...

Deepfakes FakeApp tool (briefly) includes cryptominer

A few weeks ago, we took a look at a forum dedicated to Deepfake clips where the site was pushing Coinhive mining scripts in the website's HTML code. As it turns out, there's been another mining blow-out in the form of one of the apps used to make the fakes. That's right—a tool designed to push...

Update now! Emergency fix for Google Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine zero-day flaw released

On Friday, December 2, Google rolled out an out-of-band patch for an actively exploited zero-day vulnerability in its V8 JavaScript engine. The flaw could allow attackers to cause a system crash or execute potentially malicious code. That means you'll want to update Chrome to patch against this...

Update now! Apple patches another privilege escalation bug in iOS and iPadOS

Apple has released a security update for iOS and iPad that addresses a critical vulnerability reportedly being exploited in the wild. The update has been made available for iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro all models, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iP...

How social media platforms mine personal data for profit

It’s almost impossible not to rely on social networks in some way, whether for personal reasons or business. Sites such as LinkedIn continue to blur the line, increasing the amount of social function over time with features and services resembling less formal sites, such as Facebook. Can anyone...

Lock and Code S1Ep1: On RSA, the human element, and the week in security

Last week, we told you we were launching a fortnightly podcast, called Lock and Code. This week, we made good on our promise, with lots of headlines generated right here on Labs, as well as other security news around the web. In addition, we talk with Britta Glade, Director of Content and Curatio...

Threat spotlight: RobbinHood ransomware takes the driver’s seat

Despite their name, the RobbinHood cybercriminal gang is not stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Instead, these ransomware developers are more like big game hunters—attacking enterprise organizations and critical infrastructure and keeping all the spoils for themselves. In 2019, the...

Stealthy new Android malware poses as ad blocker, serves up ads instead

Since its discovery less than a month ago, a new Trojan malware for Android we detect as Android/Trojan.FakeAdsBlock has already been seen on over 500 devices, and it’s on the rise. This nasty piece of mobile malware cleverly hides itself on Android devices while serving up a host of...

NIST’s privacy framework lets privacy tell its own story

Online privacy remains unsolved. Congress prods at it, some companies fumble with it while a small handful excel, and the public demands it. But one government agency is trying to bring everyone together to fix it. As the Senate sits on no fewer than four data privacy bills that their own members...

Mozilla launches Firefox Send for private file sharing

Mozilla look to reclaim some ground from the all-powerful Chrome with a new way to send and receive files securely from inside the browser. Firefox Send first emerged in 2017, promising an easy way to send documents without fuss. The training wheels have now come off and Send is ready to go...

A week in security (February 4 – 8)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we took a closer look at the technical and reputational challenges for Facebook as it tries to integrate secure messaging across Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. We explored Google’s latest attempts to change how the public sees—literally—web browser URLs, gave...

Breaches, breaches everywhere, it must be the season

After last weeks shocker from Marriott this week started off with disclosures about breaches at Quora, Dunkin’ Donuts, and 1-800-Flowers. Quora Quora is an online community that focuses on asking and answering questions. It was founded in 2009 by two former Facebook employees. The stolen data may...

My precious: security, privacy, and smart jewelry

Emery was staring at her computer screen for almost an hour, eyes already lackluster as the full-page ad on Motiv looped once more. She was contemplating whether she'd give in and get her boyfriend Ben a new fitness tracker as a present for his upcoming marathon. The phone app he was currently...

Fortnite gamers targeted by data theft malware

The new season of the incredibly popular video game Fortnite is upon us, and so too are the scams. It’s no surprise that con artists would jump on this bandwagon, eager to peddle their fakeouts. Only this time, scammers had something a little more dangerous in mind than your typical low-level...

GrayKey iPhone unlocker poses serious security concerns

Ever since the case of the San Bernadino shooter pitted Apple against the FBI over the unlocking of an iPhone, opinions have been split on providing backdoor access to the iPhone for law enforcement. Some felt that Apple was aiding and abetting a felony by refusing to create a special version of...

Tech support scammers GeeksHelp caught again, two years later

Many researchers have noted an increase in tech support scam activity during the past few months. This trend, facilitated by browser lockers, is not surprising considering that other web-based infection methods are not as effective. While people are still receiving cold calls from alleged Microso...

August Patch Tuesday stops actively exploited attack chain and more

Augusts Patch Tuesday is a lot quieter than it was last month, when Microsoft patched a whopping 130 vulnerabilities. That number went down to 87 this month but it does include two actively exploited vulnerabilities. Lets start by looking at those two: CVE-2023-38180 CVSS score 7.5 out of 10: a...

Fancy Bear known to be exploiting vulnerability in Cisco routers

In a joint advisory, the UK National Cyber Security Centre NCSC, the National Security Agency NSA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI have released information about APT28s exploitation of Cisco routers in 2021. Now please dont st...

Italian mafia cybercrime sting leads to 100+ arrests

The Spanish National Police Policía Nacional has successfully dismantled an organized crime ring of hundreds of members in a sting operation supported by Europol, the Italian National Police Polizia di Stato, and Eurojust. This is the end result of a year-long investigation. The organized crime...

Mozilla patches critical security issues in Firefox and Thunderbird

Mozilla has issued a critical patch for Firefox, Firefox ESR, and Thunderbird after a security issue was discovered at the Tianfu Cup 2020 International Cybersecurity Contest The security issue has been assigned CVE-2020-26950 which has the “reserved” status. Publicly disclosed computer security...

Explained: edge computing

Edge computing may seem like a foreign and future-facing term. Yet its applications are widespread and diverse, with the ability to transform the way we store, use, and share data and programs online. The implications of edge computing are far-reaching, trickling down from software development an...

Browser Guard combats privacy abuse, tracking, clickbait, and scammers

In July 2018, we introduced the Malwarebytes Browser Extension, a beta plugin for Firefox and Chrome aimed at delivering a safer, faster, and more private browsing experience. Our extension blocked tech support scams, hijackers, pop-up ads, trackers, and more to keep users secure and free from...

This online quiz is now confirmed to be a phishing scam

Ah, online quizzes. Many of us know that they can be somewhat dodgy and nonsense, really—but that doesn’t stop us from clicking the “Start quiz” button anyway. Besides, you have time to kill, and there are only three questions to answer, right? The right kind of wrong Phishing attacks don’t alway...

Christmas tech scams roundup

There’s a fair few Christmas tech scams floating around out there as 2018 winds up, and we thought it’d be a good time to warn you about them. It’s the usual mish-mash of phone antics, social media shenanigans, and click bait. Shall we begin? This scam looks divine BOOM reports on a collection of...

A week in security (December 3 – 9)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we gave readers an FYI on multiple breaches that affected Humble Bundle, Quora, and Dunkin' Donuts, to name a few. This follows the announcement from Marriott about a four-year-long breach that impacted half a billion of its patrons. We also pushed out the report,...

Compromising vital infrastructure: how voting machines and elections are vulnerable

In our first post in a series about vital infrastructure, we aim to explore how secure our voting machines—and our votes in general—are ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Here, we ask ourselves: How can our infrastructure be compromised? What are the consequences, and how can we prevent...

Fortnite’s Google Play rebuff sparks security concerns for Android users

There's been no small outbreak of chaos in mobile land recently, all because of an astonishingly popular game called Fortnite. Here's the thing: people refer to Android as "open platform," saying that, in theory, you can do what you want with it. In practice, you buy an Android phone and then...

Back to school cybersecurity tips for parents and kids

The time to start the new school term is just around the corner. And for parents, the excitement and anxiety may be palpable, especially if it's their kid's first time attending a new school. Ads for back-to-school gear start as early as July, increasing in frequency and urgency until the kiddos...

Adobe ColdFusion vulnerability exploited in the wild

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has added a critical Adobe ColdFusion vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. This means that Federal Civilian Executive Branch FCEB agencies need to remediate this...

Update now! Nvidia released fixes for 10 flaws in Windows GPU drivers

Multiple NVIDIA graphic card models have been found to have flaws in their GPU drivers, with six medium-and four high-severity ratings. Last Monday, the company released a software security update for NVIDIA GPU Display Driver to address the vulnerabilities. If exploited, they could lead to denia...

F5 BIG-IP vulnerability is now being used to disable servers

As we reported a few days ago, a F5 BIG-IP vulnerability listed as CVE-2022-1388 is actively being exploited. But now researchers have noticed that attackers arent just taking control of the vulnerable servers but also making them unusable by destroying the device’s file system. F5 BIG-IP The...

Update now! Apple patches bugs in iOS and iPadOS

On two consecutive days Apple has released a few important patches. iOS 14.8.1 comes just a month after releasing iOS 14.8 for those who didn’t want to update their iPhones to iOS 15. This update also came as a sort of surprise as it was not beta-tested beforehand. Earlier this year Apple announc...

A week in security (Sept 20 – Sept 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs Freedom Hosting operator gets 27 years for hosting dark web abuse sites Microsoft makes a bold move towards a password-less future New Mac malware masquerades as iTerm2, remote desktop and other apps Internet safety tips for kids and teens: a comprehensive guide for...

Explosive technology and 3D printers: a history of deadly devices

Hackers: They’ll turn your computer into a BOMB! "Hackers turning computers into bombs" is a now legendary headline, taken from the Weekly World News. It has rather set the bar for "people will murder you with computers" anxiety. Even those familiar with the headline may not have dug into the sto...

A week in security (November 4 – November 10)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we announced the launch of Malwarebytes 4.0, tackled data privacy legislation, and explored some of the ways robocalls come gunning for your data and your money. We also laid out the steps involved in popular vendor email compromise attacks. Other cybersecurity new...

New iOS exploit checkm8 allows permanent compromise of iPhones

UPDATE 9/27, 11:00am: Updated for the misconception that the bootrom was actually being modified. Apparently, the "permanent" only refers to the fact that the bug is in the bootrom, where it cannot be patched. UPDATE 9/27, 12:15am: After speaking with @axi0m8, clarified a few other points,...

A week in security (August 26 – September 1)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we analysed the Android xHelper trojan, we wondered why the Nextdoor app would send out letters on behalf of their customers, reported about a study that explores the clickjacking problem across top Alexa-ranked websites, wondered how to get the board to invest in...

Governments increasingly eye social media meltdown

These are trying times for social networks, with endless reports of harassment and abuse not being tackled and many users leaving platforms forever. The major sites such as Facebook and Twitter do what they can, but sheer userbase volume and erroneous automated feedback leave people cold. Bugs su...

A week in security (March 4 – 11)

Last week, Malwarebytes Labs released its in-depth, international data privacy survey of nearly 4,000 individuals, revealing that every generation, including Millennials, cares about online privacy. We also covered a novel case of zombie email that involved a very much alive account user, delved...

Mobile Menace Monday: Is Fuchsia OS the end of Android?

It’s no secret that every year Google announces a new Android version. This time though, recent Google documents state that the next major Android version will be Android Q and not Android 9.1 Pie. In parallel, Google is also developing an operating system called Fuchsia that’s supposedly going t...

Humble Bundle alerts customers to subscription reveal bug

You’ll want to check your mailbox if you have a Humble Bundle account, as they’re notifying some customers of a bug used to gather subscriber information. Click to enlarge The mail reads as follows: Hello, Last week, we discovered someone using a bug in our code to access limited non-personal...