25 most popular websites vs Malwarebytes Browser Guard

Do you know how many see-everything-you're-doing-on-the-web trackers get loaded into your browser when you watch a YouTube video? Would you care to guess? It's about sixty. Sixty. Six zero. Sixty trackers when you load one video. I know this because I decided to take Browser Guard, the...

Minecraft fans beware: Players and servers at risk from BleedingPipe vulnerability

Minecraft players interested in modding are potentially at risk of compromise. A Remote Code Execution RCE vulnerability in certain Minecraft mods allows for malicious commands on both servers and clients. The vulnerability, named BleedingPipe, allows attackers to take over a targeted server...

5 facts to know about the Royal ransomware gang

When we first introduced the Royal ransomware gang in our November 2022 review, little did we know they'd rapidly evolve into one of the most potent threats in our ongoing monthly threat intelligence briefings. In fact, the Malwarebytes Threat Intelligence team has tracked down a staggering 195...

Why businesses need a disinformation defense plan, with Lisa Kaplan: Lock and Code S04E13

When you think about the word "cyberthreat," what first comes to mind? Is it ransomware? Is it spyware? Maybe it's any collection of the infamous viruses, worms, Trojans, and botnets that have crippled countless companies throughout modern history. In the future, though, what many businesses migh...

Former TikTok exec: Chinese Communist Party had "God mode" entry to US data

A former executive at TikToks parent company ByteDance has claimed in court documents that the Chinese Communist Party CCP had access to TikTok data, despite the data being stored in the US. The allegations were made in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit which was filed in May in the San Francisco...

Unveiling Nebula's Report 2.0: A new approach to security reporting

We're excited to announce Report 2.0, a major upgrade to our report system in Nebula. Report 2.0 is not just a cosmetic touch up--it's a completely revamped security reporting solution designed to cater to your diverse business requirements, allowing for a more dynamic, data-driven approach to IT...

A week in security (May 8-14)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: The rise of "Franken-ransomware," with Allan Liska: Lock and Code S04E11 Ransomware review: May 2023 Brightline breach hits at least 964,000 people, US records show Ransomware attack on MSI led to compromised Intel Boot Guard private keys Fake system update drops...

FTC tackles tech support scams by chasing payment processor firms

A multinational payment processing company and two of its executives are facing a potential $650k fine as a result of allegedly processing credit card payments for tech support scammers. While this fine isnt exactly massive in comparison to some of the privacy breaches and other incidents seen do...

Malware authors join forces and target organisations with Domino Backdoor

Theres a new ransomware gang in town, stitched together from members of well known threat creators to push a new kind of malware focused on punishing unwary organisations. The malware family, called "Domino", is the brainchild of FIN7 and ex-Conti ransomware members. Domino has been seen in attac...

Google Pay accidentally handed out free money, bug now fixed

Days ago, several Google Pay users in the US received some unexpected cashback from Google, congratulating them "for dogfooding the Google Pay Remittance experience". Confused and a tad happy, some looked to Twitter for answers, while others aired their experiences on the /r/googlepay/ Reddit pag...

KFC, Pizza Hut owner employee data stolen in ransomware attack

Upon learning that attackers accessed and siphoned data in January, Yum! Brands, the fast-food chain operator behind The Habit Burger Grill, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, has begun sending Notice of Security Breach letters to employees whose data were potentially affected. "We are writing to...

Malware creator who compromised 10,000 computers arrested

The creator of a Remote Access Trojan RAT, responsible for compromising more than 10,000 computers, has been arrested by law enforcement in Ukraine. At the time of the arrest, the developer still had real-time access to 600 PCs. According to the announcement, the RAT could tell infected devices t...

A look at a Magecart skimmer using the Hunter obfuscator

Threat actors are notorious for trying to hide their code in various ways, from binary packers to obfuscators. On their own, these tools are not always malicious as they can also be be used by companies or individuals who wish to keep their work safe from piracy, but overall they tend to be large...

LockBit ransomware attacks Essendant

The LockBit ransomware group is claiming responsibility for taking down a US-based distributor of office products called Essendant. This attack, which is said to have begun on or around March 6, created severe ramifications for the organisation, disrupting freight carrier pickups, online orders,...

Investment fraud overtakes business email compromise as most reported fraud

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI has published its 2022 Internet Crime Report. One of the most notable points is that investment fraud has now overtaken business email compromise BEC as the most reported and most damaging type of fraud. The numbers are based on the complaints reported to t...

Internet Explorer users still targeted by RIG exploit kit

Despite a very slim browser market share, Internet Explorer IE is still being exploited by exploit kits like the RIG exploit kit EK. One major advantage for the malware distributors behind the exploit kit is that the outdated browser has reached end-of-life EOL, which means it no longer receives...

AI voice cracks telephone banking voice recognition

Voice ID is slowly rolling out across various banks worldwide as a way to perform user authentication over the phone. However, questions remain about just how secure it is. Now that we have freely available artificial intelligence AI happily replicating peoples voices, could it be a security risk...

Consent to gather data is a "misguided" solution, study reveals

When researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication conducted a survey to see if "informed consent" practices are working online with regard to user data gathering, the results revealed weaknesses in a framework that, for decades, has served as the basis for...

On the 20th Safer Internet Day, what was security like back in 2004?

Today is the 20th Safer Internet Day. Since 2004, there's been an annual event designed to "Promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world." 2004 was a key year for several safety activities, encompassin...

A private moment, caught by a Roomba, ended up on Facebook. Eileen Guo explains how: Lock and Code S04E03

In 2020, a photo of a woman sitting on a toilet--her shorts pulled half-way down her thighs--was shared on Facebook, and it was shared by someone whose job it was to look at that photo and, by labeling the objects in it, help train an artificial intelligence system for a vacuum. Bizarre? Yes...

CISA releases advice on how to safeguard K–12 organizations

To help K-12 schools and school districts in their struggle against cybercrime the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has released the report, Protecting Our Future: Partnering to Safeguard K-12 organizations from Cybersecurity Threats. A cybersecurity incident can significantly...

T-Mobile reports data theft of 37 million customers in the US

T-Mobile has announced that an attacker has accessed "limited types of information" on customers. It says it is informing impacted customers. According to the press release, no passwords, payment card information, social security numbers, government ID numbers or other financial account informati...

LastPass users should move their crypto funds, experts warn

Several experts have warned LastPass users who store cryptocurrency-related login information in their vaults to change that login information as soon as they can. Apparently, cybercriminals who have access to the stolen information are making it a priority to decrypt the data in an attempt to...

Why does technology no longer excite us? Lock and Code S04E01

When did technology last excite you? If Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is to be believed, your own excitement ended, simply had to end, after turning 35 years old. Decades ago, at first writing privately and later having those private writings published after his...

The pitfalls of blocking IP addresses

In August 2022, the Austrian court ordered the block of 11 IP addresses for copyright violations on 14 websites. Sadly, there was an undesirable side-effect--thousands of websites were rendered inaccessible to internet users in Austria for two days. There are many possible reasons why governments...

SIM swapper jailed for 18 months over crypto heist

Nicholas Truglia 25 from Florida was sentenced to 18 months on Thursday for his involvement in a digital heist that cost Michael Terpin @michaelterpin, a renowned personality in the cryptocurrency space, $23.8M. The theft happened on January 2018, where Truglia and his co-conspirators targeted...

What is ransomware-as-a-service and how is it evolving?

Ransomware attacks are becoming more frequent and costlier--breaches caused by ransomware grew 41 percent in the last year, the average cost of a destructive attack rising to $5.12 milllion. Whats more, a good chunk of the cyber criminals doing these attacks operate on a ransomware-as-a-service...

Maintenance Mode aims to keep phone data private during repairs

One of the biggest data related headaches youll face with a mobile device is what do to in the event of a repair. When you have to send your phone in for a fix, what happens to your data? In many cases, the repair technicians will simply scrub the phone by default unless you ask them not to. In...

4 times students compromised school cybersecurity

For many students school can be a tough time, and we've all heard stories about bored or frustrated kids compromising school cybersecurity to change grades. Sometimes the students are celebrated, and other times it ends in them being expelled from school, or even prosecuted. Of course, these acts...

Calling in the ransomware negotiator, with Kurtis Minder: Lock and Code S03E20

Ransomware can send any company into crisis. Immediately following an attack, the notoriously disruptive malware can spread across networks and machines, locking up important files and rendering vital data almost useless for all employees. As we learned in a previous episode of Lock and Code, a...

Malwarebytes recognized as endpoint security leader by G2

G2 has released their Fall 2022 reports, ranking Malwarebytes as the leader across a number of endpoint protection categories. Based on factual customer reviews, Malwarebytes has been ranked 1 over top EDR vendors for endpoint malware and antivirus protection, detection and remediation of web-bas...

Hookup site targeted by typo-squatters

Ethical hacker and security researcher Kody Kinzie shared with BleepingComputer a list of over 50 domains of which many are spelling variations of the brand name Sniffies. Sniffies identifies itself as a "modern, map-based, meetup app for gay, bi, and curious guys." Kody used an open source tool...

Cryptojackers growing in numbers and sophistication

With rising energy costs and increased volatility in the value of cryptocurrencies, we were bound to see a rise in malicious cryptomining, aka cryptojacking. If you dont know whether you will ever see a return on your investments in mining equipment, one will look for other opportunities. But if...

For months, JusTalk messages were accessible to everyone on the Internet

JusTalk, a popular mobile video calling and messaging app with 20 million global users, exposed a massive database of supposedly private messages to the public Internet for months. According to security researcher Anurag Sen, who discovered the open database, the messages were stored unencrypted,...

For months, JusTalk messages were accessible to everyone on the Internet

JusTalk, a popular mobile video calling and messaging app with 20 million global users, exposed a massive database of supposedly private messages to the public Internet for months. According to security researcher Anurag Sen, who discovered the open database, the messages were stored unencrypted,...

Simplifying the fight against ransomware: An expert explains

Fighting against ransomware can be difficult—especially if your organization has limited IT resources to begin with. But Adam Kujawa, security evangelist and director of Malwarebytes Labs, has a few tips for overburdened IT folks looking to simplify their fight against ransomware. In this post,...

Fake streamed cricket matches knocks victims for six

An incredible scam which resembles hidden camera prank shows has been shut down by police. Four men were arrested last week in connection with the con-job involving fake cricket and online betting. It begins in Russia, takes a trip to India, and ends up back in Russia. Heres how it unfolded:...

“Free UK visa” offers on WhatsApp are fakes

A student friend recently shared a WhatsApp message, unsure if it was scam. The message claims to offer an easy to route to free visas, housing, accommodation, and medicine access. Heres how we know it was a scam, and where it lead. It read as follows: UK GOVERNMENT JOB RECRUITMENT 2022: This is...

LGBTQ+ community targeted by extortionists who threaten to publish nudes

The FTC Federal Trade Commission has warned the LGBTQ+ community about extortionists posing as potential romantic partners on Grindr and Feeld. The scammers send their targets explicit photos and then ask for them to reciprocate. If they do, targets are then blackmailed into paying a ransom,...

You only have nine months to ditch Exchange Server 2013

Microsoft has posted a reminder that Exchange Server 2013 reaches End of Support EoS on April 11, 2023. Thats a little more than 9 months from now. A useful and timely reminder, since we all realize that it takes some time to migrate to a different system. Every Windows product has a lifecycle. T...

ASyncRat surpasses Dridex, TrickBot and Emotet to become dominant email threat

Earlier this year Malwarebytes released its 2022 Threat Review, a review of the most important threats and cybersecurity trends of 2021, and what they could mean for 2022. Among other things it covers the years alarming rebound in malware detections, and a significant shift in the balance of emai...

More than a quarter of Americans fell for robocall scam calls in past year

More and more Americans have been falling victim to phone scams since 2019. According to the latest report from Truecaller Google Docs upload of the entire report, separate blog here, a known spam blocker and caller ID app, 68.4 million Americans were victimized in the last 12 months, a substanti...

How to spot the signs of a virtual kidnap scam

Threats and bluster play a key role in most online attacks: Ransomware has its ransom note; trolls threaten to ramp up the pressure; tech support scammers insist your PC needs urgent assistance. Some take it a step further, leaning in with a more direct approach, ranging from death threats to...

FBI warns food and agriculture to brace for seasonal ransomware attacks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI recently released a Private Industry Notification warning agriculture cooperatives also known as "farmers co-ops" of the looming danger of well-timed ransomware attacks. The agency warns that during the critical planting and harvesting seasons, attacks coul...

Elon Musk-themed cryptocurrency scam uses fake Medium as the promotion site

So Elon Musk is buying Twitter, and you can be sure that scammers are making the most of this news. As Elon Musk spends most of the week in the headlines, so pop up Elon Musk-themed scams—and it looks like they may be ramping up. We witnessed a flurry of replies from the man himself in response t...

A week in security (April 11 – 17)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Credential-stealing malware disguises itself as Telegram, targets social media users Old Play Store apps served notice by upcoming API level changes Denonia cryptominer is first malware to target AWS Lambda Ransomware: March 2022 review Why identity management...

Facebook sued for siphoning facial recognition data without consent

Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of Texas, recently filed a lawsuit against Facebooks parent company, Meta, for harvesting the facial recognition data of millions of Texan residents—for a decade. Paxton filed the lawsuit on Monday in the states Harrison County District Court. The suit contains...

US senators introduce the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)

US Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee have introduced the Kids Online Safety Act KOSA, legislation that aims to enhance childrens safety online. This follows the The Wall Street Journal WSJs reporting on the harm Instagram can inflict on teens, which was...

News Corp falls victim to cyberattack

Media giant News Corp says it has fallen victim to a cyberattack. First analysis indicates that the attack was a state sponsored attack, aimed at emails and documents of News Corp employees, including journalists. News Corp says data was stolen, but that it didnt include financial data or...

A worrying Etsy listing reveals the stalking potential of Apple’s AirTags

In April of 2021, Apple introduced AirTags to the world, making the small tracking devices—similar to a Tile— available for purchase at the end of that month. The circular, coin-like product is designed to be attached to or placed in objects that are commonly lost, such as keychains, wallets,...