Removing the jam in your printer security

Printers are an important, invisible—albeit sometimes loud—component of the office. But all too often they’re filled with mystery meat icons, peculiar blinking lights, or error messages with no instruction manual to hand. No problem, you can just print at the next station! Wrong. Printers also...

A week in security (October 15 – 21)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we went over how to build your own motion-activated security camera, wondered whether FIDO is the future instrument to replace passwords and usernames, informed you about information operations on Twitter, and released our Q3 Malwarebytes Labs Cybercrime Tactics an...

Malwarebytes Labs Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques Report (CTNT) shows shift to business targets in Q3

Once again, it's that time of year: time for the quarterly Malwarebytes Labs Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques Report. Strap in your seat belts, folks, because the third quarter of 2018 was quite a wild ride. After a sleepy first two quarters, cybercriminals shook out the cobwebs and revved up...

6 sure signs someone is phishing you—besides email

There are several common and, unfortunately, frequently successful avenues of attack that cybercriminals can use to part you from your personal contact and financial information. These phishing attack methods include email, phone calls, corrupted software or apps, social media, advertisements, an...

Tips for safe summer travels: your cybersecurity checklist

Summer is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere, and with it comes vacation plans for many. Those looking to take some time away from work and home are likely making plans to secure their home, have their pets taken care of, and tie up loose ends at work. But how about securing your...

A week in security (April 02 – April 08)

Last week, we took a look at fake Whatsapp antics, dubious gaming extensions, and a huge Panera bread breach. There was also LockCrypt ransomware to contend with, we had a poke around Linkedin, and we published another Physician, protect thyself blog. Other news Compromised cash register systems...

RIG exploit kit campaign gets deep into crypto craze

There isn't a day that goes by without a headline about yet another massive spike in Bitcoin valuation, or a story about someone mortgaging their house to purchase the hardware required to become a serious cryptocurrency miner. If many folks are thinking about joining the 'crypto craze' movement,...

Text messages and the Bitcoin Code: follow the money trail

I was a bit surprised to receive lots of messages similar to the one below this past week: I mean, we've all done it—managed a bulk text spam campaign offering free Bitcoins in your spare time, while completely forgetting said business exists. Maybe I did it in my sleep? It's all gone a bit Fight...

Our computers, ourselves: digital vs. biological security

Though by night I fight malware alongside the rest of the Malwarebytes research team, by day I work as a doctoral student in Immunobiology at Yale University, where I study the development of the immune system in your bone marrow. This grants me a unique perspective, as I’ve studied both the...

Roundup: your malware infection stories

You hear the cautionary tales all the time. So-and-so didn’t have an antivirus in place and was infected with malware. Such-and-such business had limited cybersecurity infrastructure and was hit with a ransomware attack. You think: Sure, but it probably won’t happen to me. I’m a safe surfer. I’ve...

Choose your WhatsApp username carefully

Dutch consumer organization Consumentenbond has warned users to be careful when choosing their optional WhatsApp username. Meta announced the introduction of usernames on June 29, 2026, and encouraged users to reserve their username now. Meta offers this feature as: “a major privacy feature...

Tor Browser and Firefox users should update to fix actively exploited vulnerability

Mozilla has announced a security fix for its Firefox browser which also impacts the closely related Tor Browser. The new version fixes one critical security vulnerability which is reportedly under active exploitation. To address the flaw, both Mozilla and Tor recommend that users update their...

TheTruthSpy stalkerware, still insecure, still leaking data

In 2022, we published an article about how photographs of children taken by a stalkerware-type app were found exposed on the internet because of poor cybersecurity practices by the app vendor. The stalkerware-type app involved, TheTruthSpy, has shown once again that the way in which it handles...

Ivanti urges customers to patch yet another critical vulnerability

In a new blog post, Ivanti says that it has found another vulnerability and urges customers to “immediately take action to ensure you are fully protected”. This vulnerability only affects a limited number of supported versions–Ivanti Connect Secure version 9.1R14.4, 9.1R17.2, 9.1R18.3, 22.4R2.2 a...

Ransomware review: December 2023

This article is based on research by Marcelo Rivero, Malwarebytes ransomware specialist, who monitors information published by ransomware gangs on their Dark Web sites. In this report, "known attacks" are those where the victim did not pay a ransom. This provides the best overall picture of...

The mystery of the CVEs that are not vulnerabilities

A researcher specializing in Software Supply Chain security named Dan Lorenc recently raised an interesting topic on LinkedIn. 138 new vulnerabilities in open-source projects were all entered the same day to the CVE database. To understand what the problem is there are a few things youll need to...

Sponsored Twitter post uses fake BBC News site to boost slippery oil trading app

A sponsored post on Twitter promises to offer the benefits of obtaining citizenship, but really just wants to lure you into some form of Forex trading AI scheme. This tangled web also includes faked BBC web pages and suspicious-looking website reviews to round the whole thing off. Shall we take a...

Introducing Quarantine for Cloud Storage Scanning in Nebula

Were excited to announce Quarantine for Malwarebytes Cloud Storage Scanning CSS, a new feature which allows you to automatically quarantine threats found in your cloud storage repositories. Malwarebytes Cloud Storage Scanning is an add-on service in Nebula that scans for malware on cloud storage...

A Chrome fix for an in-the-wild exploit is out—Check your version

Google has announced an update for Chrome that fixes an in-the-wild exploit. Chrome Stable channel has been updated to 107.0.5304.87 for Mac and Linux, and 107.0.5304.87/.88 for Windows. The vulnerability at hand is described as a type confusion issue in the V8 Javascript engine. Mitigation If...

Google ads lead to major malvertising campaign

Fraudsters have long been leveraging the shady corners of the internet to place malicious adverts, leading users to various scams. However, every now and again we see a campaign that goes mainstream and targets some of the worlds top brands. Case in point, we recently uncovered a malvertising cha...

Why data protection and privacy are not the same, and why that matters: Lock and Code S03E09

Theres a mistake commonly made in the United States that a law that was passed to help people move their healthcare information to a new doctor or provider was actually passed to originally implement universal, wide-ranging privacy controls on that same type of information. This is the mixup with...

Dridex affiliate dresses up as Scrooge

Threat actors are hoping to catch a few more victims before they leave work for the Christmas holidays. The recent malicious spam campaigns malspam we and others have observed appear to have been created by someone who wants to play Scrooge and add onto peoples already heightened state of anxiety...

A week in security (Nov 29 – Dec 5)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: CronRAT targets Linux servers with e-commerce attacks Hackers all over the world are targeting Tasmania’s emergency services Massive faceprint scraping company Clearview AI hauled over the coals Most people aren’t upgrading to Windows 11: Not the end of the world...

The Olympics: a timeline of scams, hacks, and malware

The 2020 Olympics are, after a bit of a delayed start, officially in full swing. So too is the possibility for scammers to crawl out of the woodwork. And while actual, measurable cyberrattacks and hacks surrounding The Olympics did not truly get rolling until 2008 in Beijing, The Olympic games ha...

A week in security (June 21 – June 27)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Want to stop ransomware attacks? Send the cybercriminals to jail, says Brian Honan: Lock and Code S02E11 Atomic research institute breached via VPN vulnerability Hotel staff bust Hermes SMS scammer with suspiciously large number of cables City of Liège hit by...

How to delete your Instagram account

Although sharing your day’s highlights in snapshots and videos on Instagram can be entertaining, some people claim to feel happier after deleting their accounts. Consuming media tailor-made to make other peoples lifestyles appear alluring can be addictive for some and induce anxiety in others. No...

Watch out! Android Flubot spyware is spreading fast

Using a proven method of text messages about missed deliveries, an old player on the Android malware stage has returned for an encore. This time it seems to be very active, especially in the UK where Android users are being targeted by text messages containing a link to a particularly nasty piece...

Royal Mail scam says your parcel is waiting for delivery

Expecting a delivery? Watch out for phishing attempts warning of held packages and bogus shipping fees. This Royal Mail delivery scam begins with a text message out of the blue, claiming: Your Royal Mail parcel is waiting for delivery. Please confirm the settlement amount of 2.99 GBP via:...

North Korean hackers charged with $1.3 billion of cyberheists

The US Department of Justice recently unsealed indictments detailing North Koreas involvement in several global cyberattack campaigns against institutions in the financial and entertainment sectors, and money laundering schemes in certain US states. The first unsealed indictment is for hacking...

GDPR: An impact around the world

A little more than one month after the European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation GDPR to extend new data privacy rights to its people, the governor of California signed a separate, sweeping data protection law that borrowed several ideas from GDPR, sparking a torch in a...

Biotech health care innovations meet security challenges

The level and speed of innovations taking place in the biotech industry are baffling. On the one hand, it makes us hopeful we can quickly reduce the number of illnesses and their consequences through technological advancement—saving thousands of lives. On the other, concerns about the application...

A week in security (September 16 -22)

Last week on Labs, we sounded the alarm about the relaunch of Emotet, one of the year's most dangerous forms of malware, with a new spam campaign. We also reported on how international students in UK are targeted by visa scammers, what CEOs think about a potential US data privacy law, and...

A week in security (July 9 – July 15)

Last week, we talked about domestic abuse fuelled by IoT, doing threat intel programs right, blocking ICO fraud, and man-in-the-middle attacks. We also explained why we block shady ad blockers and provided tips to online shoppers for Prime Day. Other news: Reports revealed that low-end Android...

Fake Fortnite for Android links found on YouTube

The extremely popular video game Fortnite is coming to Android sometime this summer, and the fanbase is going wild. Not surprisingly, mobile malware developers are taking advantage. Already, there are several videos on YouTube with links claiming to be versions of Fortnite for Android, despite th...

A week in security (June 4 – June 10)

Last week on Labs, we took a look at hidden mobile ads, the perils of social media spam, and how to shore up your landline defenses. We also took a deep dive into Emotet malware analysis, and gave you some summertime safety tips. Other news Update your Adobe Flash player if you haven't already...

Malwarebytes CrackMe 2: contest summary

About three weeks ago, we published our second CrackMe. It triggered a lot of interest, and we got many high-quality write-ups. Choosing the winner was really difficult! In this post, I am going to summarize the contest and comment on the received submissions. CrackMe 2 challenge The topic of the...

Singles’ Day deal seekers beware

Originally a day set aside for singles in China to be proud of their singlehood, Singles' Day has been transformed into what is arguably the world’s single largest e-commerce festival, thanks to the involvement of The Alibaba Group. In fact, the Alibaba Group alone reported $17.8 billion in sales...

Buying TikTok views or followers? Here’s what you’re really getting

A whole industry has sprung up around selling TikTok "growth." Cheap views by the hundred, pre-made ad accounts, and polished sales pages promising a repeatable path to serious revenue. None of it is officially sanctioned by TikTok, and depending on what you're buying, you could end up wasting...

Semrush impersonation scam hits Google Ads

This blog post was co-authored with Elie Berreby, Senior SEO Strategist Criminals are highly interested in online marketing and advertising tools that they can leverage as part of their ongoing malware campaigns. In particular, we have previously detailed how Google advertiser accounts can be...

Microsoft patches 34 vulnerabilities, including one zero-day

December’s Patch Tuesday is a relatively quiet one on the Microsoft front. Redmond has patched 34 vulnerabilities with only four rated as critical. One vulnerability, a previously disclosed unpatched vulnerability in AMD central processing units CPUs, was shifted by AMD to software developers. Th...

Patch now! BIG-IP Configuration utility is vulnerable for an authentication bypass

Tech company F5 has warned customers about a critical authentication bypass vulnerability impacting its BIG-IP product line that could result in unauthenticated remote code execution. F5 provides services focused on security, reliability, and performance. BIG-IP is a collection of hardware...

The ransomware landscape changes as fewer victims decide to pay

Fewer victims are choosing to pay their ransomware extorters, especially among large enterprises, according to a recent investigation from Coveware. As a result of this, and other circumstances, we can see some shifts in the way that ransomware groups and their affiliates work. Large organization...

Extortionists target restaurants, demand money to take down bad reviews

Restaurants and other eating establishments are being targeted by extortionists who post fake reviews online and then offer to remove them in exchange for a gift card. The possibility has always existed to leave poor reviews on Google Maps and elsewhere. However, seeing fraudsters get organised a...

A week in security (July 5 – July 11)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Racing against a real-life ransomware attack. Podcast with Ski Kacoroski. Kaseya CEO: “The impact of this incredibly sophisticated attack is very minimal” Patch now! Emergency fix for PrintNightmare released by Microsoft. Game over: Apex Legends players locked out ...

Cybersecurity in Cyberpunk 2077: the good, the bad, and the cringeworthy

What game caused some players to experience seizures, allows you to have unauthorized sex with Keanu Reeves, features a lead character who can’t keep the contents of his pants contained, was pulled from the PlayStation Store weeks after release, and still managed to shatter sales and streaming...

A week in security (January 13 – 19)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we taught you how to prevent a rootkit attack, explained what data enrichment means, informed you about new rules on deepfakes in the US, and demonstrated how backdoors in elastic servers expose private data. Other cybersecurity news An online group of cybersecurit...

Explained: data enrichment

How do your favorite brands know to use your first name in the subject line of their emails? Why do you seem to get discounts and special offers on products you've recently purchased? Businesses are able to personalize their marketing messages thanks to data enrichment. Data enrichment applies to...

Emotet malspam campaign uses Snowden’s new book as lure

Exactly one week ago, Emotet, one of the most dangerous threats to organizations in the last year, resumed its malicious spam campaigns after several months of inactivity. Based on our telemetry, we can see that the botnet started becoming chatty with its command and control servers C2, about a...

International students in UK targeted by visa scammers

A new visa scam has come to light targeting international students from China studying in the UK. At least, it’s being presented as new. In truth, it comes around every so often and has been on the radar for a few years. The scam works by presenting a threat to students’ immigration status and us...

A week in security (August 12 – 18)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we took a look at the potential pitfalls of facial recognition technology, looked at ways domestic abuse survivors can secure their data, and explored the education threat landscape. We also kicked off a series looking at the Hidden Bee infection chain, and put...