Affirm says Evolve Bank data breach also compromised some of its customers

Buy now, pay later payment specialist Affirm has warned that holders of its payment cards had their personal information exposed after a ransomware attack and data breach at Evolve Bank & Trust. In a form 8-K, submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC, Affirm states: “Because the...

Desperate Taylor Swift fans defrauded by ticket scams

Ticket scams are very common and apparently hard to stop. When there are not nearly enough tickets for some concerts to accommodate all the fans that desperately want to be there, it makes for ideal hunting grounds for scammers. With a ticket scam, you pay for a ticket and you either don’t receiv...

60% of small businesses are concerned about cybersecurity threats

According to a recent poll by the US Chamber of Commerce, 60% of small businesses are concerned about cybersecurity threats, and 58% are concerned about a supply chain breakdown. Not surprisingly, small businesses in the professional services sector feel significantly more concerned about...

Securing your home network is long, tiresome, and entirely worth it, with Carey Parker: Lock and Code S05E07

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… Few words apply as broadly to the public—yet mean as little—as “home network security.” For many, a “home network” is an amorphous thing. It exists somewhere between a router, a modem, an outlet, and whatever cable it is that plugs into the wall. But the id...

Patch now! Roundcube mail servers are being actively exploited

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has added a vulnerability in Roundcube Webmail 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 vulnerability by...

State of Malware 2024: What consumers need to know

Released today, the Malwarebytes State of Malware 2024 report takes a deep dive into the latest developments in the world of cybercrime. As home users, many of the threats we cover will only affect you second hand, such as disruptions after a company suffers a ransomware attack, or when your...

Tax season is here, so are scammers

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that the 2024 tax filing season has officially begun, with an expected 146 million individual tax returns to be filed. While it is costly and complex for the IRS to process so many digital and paper documents, it can also be a headache for many Americans...

How to recognize AI-generated phishing mails

Phishing is the art of sending an email with the aim of getting users to open a malicious file or click on a link to then steal credentials. But most phishers arent very good, and the success rate is relatively low: In 2021, the average click rate for a phishing campaign was 17.8%. However, now...

How to choose a free vulnerability scanner: Insights from an industry veteran

The cybersecurity market is awash with expensive, high-end solutions for detecting vulnerabilities in third-party applications. However, for smaller security teams, free vulnerability scanners offer a practical alternative. But of course, free doesn’t always mean better—it’s crucial to thoroughly...

Update now! Chrome fixes actively exploited zero-day vulnerability

Google has released an update to Chrome which includes seven security fixes including one for a vulnerability which is known to have already been exploited. If you’re a Chrome user on Windows, Mac, or Linux, you should update as soon as possible. The easiest way to update Chrome is to set it to...

Scattered Spider ransomware gang falls under government agency scrutiny

As you may have read in our November Ransomware Review, Scattered Spider is a relatively new, albeit dangerous, ransomware gang who made headlines in September for attacking MGM Resorts and Caesar Entertainment. For small security teams, one of the most important findings about the group is their...

Using ChatGPT to cheat on assignments? New tool detects AI-generated text with amazing accuracy

ChatGPT and similar Large language models LLMs can be used to write texts about any given subject, at any desired length at a speed unmatched by humans. So its not a surprise that students have been using them to "help" write assignments, much to the dismay of teachers who prefer to receive...

ThreatDown powered by Malwarebytes: A 15 Year Journey

November marks a significant shift in our legacy. After 15 years as Malwarebytes, we are proud to introduce our rebranded identity, ThreatDown powered by Malwarebytes. Building off Malwarebytes’ initial recognition for removing every trace of viruses that others missed, ThreatDown powered by...

A week in security (October 30 – November 5)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Apache ActiveMQ vulnerability used in ransomware attacks YouTube launches "global effort" to block ad blockers Should you allow your browser to remember your passwords? Atlassian: "Take immediate action" to patch your Confluence Data Center and Server instances Wha...

Should you allow your browser to remember your passwords?

At Malwarebytes weve been telling people for years not to reuse passwords, and that a password manager is a secure way of remembering all the passwords you need for your online accounts. But we also know that a password manager can be overwhelming, especially when youre just getting started. Once...

Announcing NEW Malwarebytes Identity Theft Protection

We’ve always been committed to keeping you safe and secure online. But these days, cybersecurity isn’t just about defending you from malware; it’s about protecting your—and your family’s—entire digital identity. We know that people are worried. In fact, in our latest report, titled “Everyone’s...

MGM attack is too late a wake-up call for businesses, says James Fair: Lock and Code S04E22

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… In September, the Las Vegas casino and hotel operator MGM Resorts became a trending topic on social media… but for all the wrong reasons. A TikTok user posted a video taken from inside the casino floor of the MGM Grand—the companys flagship hotel complex ne...

Battling a new DarkGate malware campaign with Malwarebytes MDR

First publicly reported in 2018, DarkGate is a Windows-based malware with a wide-range of capabilities including credential stealing and remote access to victim endpoints. Until recently, it was only seen being delivered through traditional email malspam campaigns. In late August 2023, however,...

2.6 million DuoLingo users have scraped data released

An unknown party has released the scraped data of 2.6 million DuoLingo users on a hacking forum. While they offered the data set for sale in January for $1,500, it's now been released on a new version of the Breached hacking forum for 8 site credits, worth only $2.13. DuoLingo is an educational...

Criminals target businesses with malicious extension for Meta's Ads Manager and accidentally leak stolen accounts

Like all social media platforms, Facebook constantly has to deal with fake accounts, scams and malware. We have written about scams targeting consumers that redirect to fake Microsoft alert pages, but there are also threats targeting businesses that use Facebook to promote their products and...

Update now! MOVEit Transfer vulnerability actively exploited

On May 31, 2023, Progress Software released a security bulletin about a critical vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer. The security bulletin states: "a SQL injection vulnerability has been found in the MOVEit Transfer web application that could allow an un-authenticated attacker to gain unauthorized...

Navigating mobile malware trends: Crucial insights and predictions for MSPs

Whether a company gives them out or they're owned by the employees or students, mobile devices are like honey for cybercriminals. And the kicker? Most of these devices are not protected enough. Just check out the following stats from last year: 18 percent of clicked phishing emails in 2022 came...

Fileless attacks: How attackers evade traditional AV and how to stop them

When you hear about malware, theres a good chance you think of sketchy executables or files with extensions like .DOCX or .PDF that, once opened, execute malicious code. These are examples of file-based attacks--and while they can be bad, theyre nothing compared to their fileless cousins. As the...

ChatGPT helps both criminals and law enforcement, says Europol report

In a report, Europol says that ChatGPT and other large language models LLMs can help criminals with little technical knowledge to perpetrate criminal activities, but it can also assist law enforcement with investigating and anticipating criminal activities. The report aims to provide an overview ...

Eufy "no cloud" security cameras streaming data to the cloud

Eufy home security cameras are currently in a spot of trouble as a result of door camera footage. This is because it turns out that data which should not have been going to the cloud was doing so anyway in certain conditions. Securing your home: a complicated proposition Insecure cameras,...

A week in security (October 17 - 23)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Thermal cameras could help reveal your password How to spot a scam Warning: "FaceStealer" iOS and Android apps steal your Facebook login Criminal group busted after stealing hundreds of keyless cars Fake tractor fraudsters plague online transactions DeadBolt...

Local government cybersecurity: 5 best practices

It seems like not a day goes by where we dont hear about a local government cyberattack. Indeed, from 911 call centers to public schools, cyberattacks on local governments are as common as they are devastating. Just how often do threat actors attack local governments? A survey of 14 mainly larger...

APT28 attack uses old PowerPoint trick to download malware

Researchers at Cluster25 have published research about exploit code that's triggered when a user moves their mouse over a link in a booby-trapped PowerPoint presentation. The code starts a PowerShell script that downloads and executes a dropper for Graphite malware. Graphite is named after...

Scammers send fake 'Energy Bills Support Scheme' texts

Watch out for an energy-themed scam being sent out via SMS. The message plays on energy price fears, similar to what weve seen previously. Scam alert. I just received this text. Click through and it looks very official. Its a scam. The £400 energy bill discount is automatic, you dont need to...

A week in security (August 22 - August 28)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Cryptojackers growing in numbers and sophistication CISA wants you to patch these actively exploited vulnerabilities before September 8 Reddit users crowdsourcing explicit images and identities Criminals socially engineer their way to bank details with fake arrest...

Instagram introduces new ways for users to verify their age

If Instagram suspects you are fibbing about your age, youll currently see the following message: “You must be at least 13 years old to have an Instagram account. We disabled your account because you are not old enough yet. If you believe we made a mistake, please verify your age by submitting a...

Cloud data breaches: 4 biggest threats to cloud storage security

Just about anywhere you look, organizations are using the cloud in some form—and they’re not all large enterprises. Small and medium businesses SMBs are also reaping the many benefits that the cloud offers over on-premise software, especially the lowered IT costs, increased scalability, and large...

A week in security (May 30 – June 5)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Intuit phish says "We have put a temporary hold on your account" The Quad commits to strengthening cybersecurity in software, supply chains Double-whammy attack follows fake Covid alert with a bogus bank call Microsoft Office zero-day "Follina"—its not a bug, its a...

Ransomware attack turns 2022 into 1977 for Somerset County

1977 was quite the year. Led Zeppelin! Jimmy Carter! Saturday Night Fever! We can now add "a ransomware attack" to this once static list. Somerset County, New Jersey, has been hit so hard by a network assault that theyve ended up in the direst straits imaginable, with county databases unavailable...

Canon printer owners: Be careful of bogus driver download sites

Think of all the really common, very mundane things you search for of a tech nature. Drivers. Scanners. Printers. A broken photocopier. USB sticks not recognised. Activating a streaming service which refuses to play ball. Some of the above have many issues already with bogus search engine results...

How Instagram scammers talk users out of their accounts

If youve dealt with a scammer, youll know that making up stories is their bread and butter. Think about it: Just when you thought youd heard all the infamous 419 scam backstories, scammers surprise you with a "stuck astronaut" scam, something so utterly hilarious, nonsensical, and otherworldly th...

Ukraine shuts down disinformation bot farm

Given current world events, there’s an incredible amount of misinformation and disinformation around at the moment. Whether we’re talking 5G, the pandemic, vaccines, or invasions, there’s a lot out there. One of the biggest problems where bad information placed online is concerned is bot farms. A...

Firefox and Chrome reaching major versions 100 may break some websites

Mozilla has issued a warning about the upcoming versions 100 for both Chrome and Firefox. The change in the version number from 2 to 3 digits may cause some problems when visiting websites that are not prepared for this change. For example, it’s possible that some parsing libraries may have...

The return of the Malwarebytes CrackMe

This blog post was authored by Hasherezade Update: Malwarebytes Crackme : we already have the winners in the category "the fastest solve", congratulations! 1st: @nazywam 2nd: Suvaditya Sur @x0r19x91 3rd:@evandrix But we are still waiting for your submissions! -- Malwarebytes Threat Intelligence...

We dig into the Game Players Code

Gaming security is getting a lot of attention at the moment. Rightly so; it’s a huge target for scammers and malware authors. Malicious ads, fake games, survey scams, phishing attacks…whatever you can think of, it’s in use. Some target kids and steal their accounts, selling them on. Others go aft...

Adblocker promises to blocks ads, injects them instead

Researchers at Imperva uncovered a new ad injection campaign based on an adblocker named AllBlock. The AllBlock extension was available at the time of writing for Chrome and Opera in the respective web stores. While disguising your adware as an adblocker may seem counterintuitive, it is actually ...

Apple delays plans to search devices for child abuse imagery

After the uproar from users and privacy advocates about Apple’s controversial plans to scan users devices for photos and messages containing child abuse and exploitation media, the company has decided to put the brakes on the plan. If you may recall, Apple announced in early August that it would...

A week in security (May 17 – May 23)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we looked at a banking trojan full of nasty tricks, explained some tips and pointers for using VirusTotal, and dug into how an authentication vulnerability was patched by Pega Infinity. We also explored how a Royal Mail phish deploys evasion tricks to avoid analysi...

Baltimore gets hit by ransomware again, the schools this time

All Baltimore County Public Schools closed Wednesday after the school system was hit with a ransomware attack, according to officials. Baltimore County Public Schools superintended Dr. Darryl Williams stated: “This morning, we decided to close all BCPS schools and offices in order to access and...

How Covid fatigue puts your physical and digital health in jeopardy

After six months of social distancing, sheltering in place, working from home, distance learning, mask-wearing, hand-washing, and plenty of hand-wringing, people are pretty damn tired of COVID-19. And with no magic bullet yet and no end in sight, annoyance has turned into exasperation and even...

We found yet another phone with pre-installed malware via the Lifeline Assistance program

We have discovered, yet again, another phone model with pre-installed malware provided from the Lifeline Assistance program via Assurance Wireless by Virgin Mobile. This time, an ANS American Network Solutions UL40 running Android OS 7.1.1. After our writing back in January—"United States...

Consumers have few legal options for protecting privacy

There are no promises in the words, “We care about user privacy.” Yet, these words appear on privacy policy after privacy policy, serving as disingenuous banners to hide potentially invasive corporate practices, including clandestine data collection, sharing, and selling. This is no accident. It ...

When spyware goes mainstream

Stealware. Surveillanceware. Stalkerware. These are terms alternately used to effectively identify a file-based threat that has been around since 1996: spyware. More than two decades later, consumer or commercial spyware has gone mainstream, and the surprising number of software designed, openly...

Back to school cybersecurity: hints, tips, and links for a safer school year

It's that time of year again when parents are slowly gearing up for a new school term. Some schools have a strict policy of only using their own pre-approved lab devices, while others allow students to bring their own devices. Whatever the plan, it's never too early to start thinking about some o...

New Mac cryptominer has 23 older variants

On February 1, a new Mac cryptominer was discovered being distributed via a hack of the MacUpdate website. Since then, we've been doing some digging and found that this isolated incident was just the tip of the iceberg. The malware delivered by the MacUpdate hack appears to be the culmination of...