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Identity thieves bypass security questions to access Experian credit reports
After a tip from a Telegram user who frequented identity theft channels, Brian Krebs tested and confirmed that anyone who knew your name, address, social security number SSN, and birthday could view your full credit report at Experian. Skipping security questions The method to get access did not...
FBI warns of imposter ads in search results
The FBI has issued a public notice which includes advice to block adverts. Why? Lets take a look. The bogus advert tightrope Its no secret that rogue ads have been a particular plague on the Internet for as far back as we can remember. From irritating pop ups and spinning "Youve won a prize"...
Venus ransomware targets remote desktop services
Its time for another tale of remote desktop disaster, as a newish form of ransomware carves out a name for itself. Bleeping Computer reports that individuals behind Venus ransomware are breaking into "publicly exposed Remote Desktop services", with the intention of encrypting any and all Windows...
DeadBolt ransomware gang tricked into giving victims free decryption keys
Dutch police and other law enforcement agencies have managed to trick the DeadBolt ransomware operators into releasing 150 decryption keys for free. The method of obtaining decryption keys was found by a Dutch incident response company called Responders.NU, who shared the method with the police...
Security awareness campaign highlights things your bank will never say
If you like anti-phishing efforts, hashtags, and confusing but colourful video games, youll be interested to know that a security initiative involving all three is now live. The American Bankers Association and other banks in the US are involved in an awareness campaign tied in with National...
TikTok's "secret operation" tracks you even if you don't use it
Consumer Reports CR, a US-based nonprofit consumer organization, has revealed that TikTok gathers data on people who don't even use the app itself. If this sounds familiar, it's because it's happened before. Meta's near-omnipresence wherever you are online enabled it to gather data on users, even...
A week in security (September 12 – 18)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: The North Face hit by credential stuffing attack Facebook engineers aren't sure where all user data is kept 6 patch management best practices for businesses The MSP playbook on deciphering tech promises and shaping security culture Apple puts the password on life...
Explained: Steganography
Steganography is the prime example of effectively hiding something in plain sight. The word steganography comes from the Greek words "stegos" meaning "cover" and "grafia" meaning "writing." Steganography, then, is defined as "covered writing." In essence, we use the name steganography for every...
Twilio breached after social engineering attack on employees
Cloud-based communication platform provider Twilio has announced a breach via a social engineering attack on employees. On August 4, 2022, Twilio says it became aware of unauthorized access to information related to a limited number of Twilio customer accounts, through the social engineering atta...
A week in security (August 1 - August 7)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Have we lost the fight for data privacy? Lock and Code S03E16 Wrestling star Mick Foleys Twitter compromised, selling PS5 consoles Millions of Arris routers are vulnerable to path traversal attacks When a sextortion victim fights back How to protect yourself and yo...
DHS says to update your Emergency Alert Systems immediately
The Department of Homeland Security has issued an advisory after vulnerabilities were found in its Emergency Alert Systems EAS. EAS technology is designed to fire out warning messages during times of national emergency. It can be used to warn of coastal flooding, earthquakes, child abduction,...
How to protect yourself and your kids against device theft
In no time at all, kids will be going back to school or starting college. And while gearing up for this, its very important to be aware of the threat from device loss in the school environment. Maybe you are away at university for the first time and have a new place to live, or maybe your kids ha...
Google delays Chrome third party cookie sunsetting…again
Weve seen many examples of third-party cookies being tackled by browsers recently. Its not so long ago that Firefox effectively locked down third-party tracking by isolating cookies into so-called jars. By doing so, their "Total Cookie Protection" seeks to prevent all those cookies on your PC...
A week in security (July 11 – July 17)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Elden Ring maker Bandai Namco hit by ransomware and data leaks Predatory Sparrow massively disrupts steel factories while keeping workers safe New variant of Android SpyJoker malware removed from Play Store after 3 million+ installs China’s Tonto Team increases...
How the FBI quietly added itself to criminals’ instant message conversations
Motherboard has disclosed some information about Operation Trojan Shield, in which the FBI intercepted messages from thousands of encrypted phones around the world. These messages are now used in courts across the world as corroborating evidence. Operation Trojan Shield The US Federal Bureau of...
Fake job offer leads to $600 million theft
Back in March, popular NFT battler Axie Infinity lay at the heart of a huge cryptocurrency theft inflicted on the Ronin network. From the Ronin newsletter: There has been a security breach on the Ronin Network. Earlier today, we discovered that on March 23rd, Sky Mavis’s Ronin validator nodes and...
Cloud-based malware is on the rise. How can you secure your business?
There’s a lot of reasons to think the cloud is more secure than on-prem servers, from better data durability to more consistent patch management — but even so, there are many threats to cloud security businesses should address. Cloud-based malware is one of them. Indeed, while cloud environments...
YTStealer targets YouTube content creators
Researchers are reporting the discovery of malware targeting YouTub content creators. The aim is to compromise accounts and then take over the victims channels completely. The malware, dubbed YTStealer, has one game plan: Grabbing authentication cookies. A site gives you an authentication cookie...
Internet Safety Month: Everything you need to know about Omegle
Omegle reached the heady heights of fame when everyone least expected it. Thanks to TikTok influencers, children flocked to this 13-year-old platform during the pandemic, unaware of the dangers already there. The concept of talking to strangers online is Omegles main selling point, but its not ne...
City worker loses USB stick containing data on every resident after day of drinking
A person working in the city of Amagasaki, in Western Japan, has mislaid a USB stick which contained data on the citys 460,000 residents. The USB drive was in a bag that went missing during a reported day of drinking and dining at a restaurant last Tuesday. The person reported it to the police th...
A week in security (June 13 – June 19)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Serious vulnerabilities found in ITarian software, patches available for SaaS products Update Chrome now: Four high risk vulnerabilities found Taking down the IP2Scam tech support campaign Don’t panic! “Unpatchable” Mac vulnerability discovered Introducing...
Photos of kids taken from spyware-ridden phones found exposed on the internet
A stalkerware-type app that boasts "the best free phone spying software on the market," has exposed the data it snooped on from the phones it was installed in. The data exposed by TheTruthSpy included GPS locations and photos on victims phones, and images of children and babies. This news, first...
Apple’s passkeys attempt to solve the password problem
The recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference WWDC revealed another teasing of what has been referred to as "the end of passwords forever". Passkeys are a "new biometric sign-in standard". Biometrics in security circles are used for things like identity cards, building access, and so on. This...
FBI warns of scammers soliciting donations for Ukraine
The FBI recently issued an announcement about a fraudulent scheme that proves there is no low thats too low for scammers. "Criminal actors are taking advantage of the crisis in Ukraine by posing as Ukrainian entities needing humanitarian aid or developing fundraising efforts, including monetary a...
“Look what I found here” phish targets Facebook users
Facebook-themed messages are a frequent source of bogus links from both spam and compromised accounts. Whether you receive the messages via SMS, the Messenger app, or just inside regular web chat, it pays to be careful. A wide variety of attacks use bogus messages as their launchpad, and the risk...
How COVID-19 fuelled a surge in malware
2021 saw a massive surge in detections of malware, adware, and Potentially Unwanted Programs PUPs. It didnt matter what the computers were used for or what operating system they ran—across business and home computers, on Windows and on Mac, detections went up, enormously. Detections of malware on...
The $43 billion Business Email Compromise threat
The FBI has released a public service announcement regarding the ever-present threat of Business Email Compromise BEC. This comes hot on the heels of an earlier release from the Las Vegas FBI department in April. Losses continue to mount, and were currently facing a scam racking up domestic and...
State-backed hacking group from China is targeting the Russian military
In an unexpected turn of events, research has surfaced about a Chinese APT advanced persistent threat group targeting the Russian military in recent cyberattacks. Tracked as Bronze President, Mustang Panda, RedDelta, and TA416, the group has focused mainly on Southeast Asian targets—and more...
US healthcare billing services group hacked, affecting at least half a million individuals
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Adaptive Health Integrations AHI, a healthcare software and billing services firm in North Dakota, suffered a data breach that affected more than half a million individuals. According to the firm, the breach occurred in mid-October last...
Beware scammers disguised as fraud busters
Fraudsters like confusing and disorienting people. Successful ones avoid obvious lines of approach and try things you wouldnt expect. A recent story highlights this, with a particularly devious method of parting someone from their money. The Daily Record reports scammers running off with an $11,0...
Pegasus spyware found on UK government office phone
“When we found the No. 10 case, my jaw dropped." John Scott-Railton recalled after finding out on July 7, 2020 that Pegasus, the highly sophisticated flagship spyware of Israels NSO Group, was used to infect a phone linked to the network at 10 Downing Street, the UK Prime Ministers home and offic...
“Your AppIe lD has been locked” spam email takes you on a website mystery tour
Spam which claims your account has been locked out and needs to be fixed are common. They drive people to phishing campaigns on a daily basis. The mail below follows the same pattern with one key difference. It looks like a phish, but goes somewhere else entirely. No, your Apple ID has not been...
Watch out for fake WhatsApp “New Incoming Voicemessage” emails
Thanks to the Threat Intelligence team for their help with this article. Security researchers from Armorblox, a cybersecurity company specializing in email-based threats, have encountered a fake WhatsApp email with the subject "New Incoming Voicemessage." The spoofed WhatsApp voicemail notificati...
Globant suffers network breach due to LAPSUS$ compromise
Globant, an IT and software development firm with offices all around the globe, admitted in a press statement Wednesday that it has suffered a breach in its network. Affected data includes but may not be limited to some source code and certain project documentation of clients. "We have recently...
Tech support fraud is still very much alive, says latest FBI report
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 has released its annual report. In 2021, IC3 continued to receive a record number of complaints from the American public: 847,376 reported complaints, which was a 7% increase from 2020, with potential losses exceeding $6.9 billion. Among the complaint...
A week in security (March 14 – 20)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Beware of this bogus and phishy “Instagram Support” email Meet Exotic Lily, access broker for ransomware and other malware peddlers Double header: IsaacWiper and CaddyWiper How to protect RDP Online Safety Bill’s provisions for “legal but harmful” content described...
Deepfake Zelenskyy video surfaces on compromised websites
It’s been a long time coming. The worry over deepfake technology being used during times of major upheaval has been alluded to frequently over the last couple of years. The buildup to the US election was peppered by “any moment now…” style warnings of dramatic and plausible deepfake deployment. I...
Clouding the issue: what cloud threats lie in wait in 2022?
As more services move ever cloud-wards, so too do thoughts by attackers as to how best exploit them. With all that juicy data sitting on someone else’s servers, it’s essential that they run a tight ship. You’re offloading some of your responsibility onto a third party, and sometimes things can go...
Fake Royal Mail chatbot offers up…a new iPhone?
Royal Mail scams are always popular techniques for people up to no good. We’ve covered them several times over the last year or so. A quick reminder: Your parcel is waiting for delivery This is the go-to tactic for fake Royal Mail phishing attacks. You receive a text claiming there’s a parcel in...
How Crisis Text Line crossed the line in the public’s mind: Lock and Code S03E05
Last month, Politico reported that Crisis Text Line, a national mental health support nonprofit whose volunteers help people through text-based chats, was sharing those chats with a for-profit company that Crisis Text Line spun-off in an attempt to boost funding for itself. That for-profit ventur...
CISA offers guidance on dealing with information manipulation
Malicious actors use influence operations, like spreading false information, to shape public opinion, undermine trust, amplify division, and create dissension. In response, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has released CISA Insights: Preparing for and Mitigating Foreign...
The world’s most coveted spyware, Pegasus: Lock and Code S03E04
Two years ago, the FBI reportedly purchased a copy of the worlds most coveted spyware, a tool that can remotely and silently crack into Androids and iPhones without leaving a trace, spilling device contents onto a console possibly thousands of miles away, with little more effort than entering a...
Ransomware author releases decryption keys, says goodbye forever
Update 12th February: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the decryption tool used to unlock files existed prior to the keys being released - this has now been corrected. If you’re unfortunate enough to be caught out by ransomware, the consequences can be devastating. You may ...
A week in security (January 17 — 23)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: CISA calls for urgent action against critical threats Red Cross begs attackers to “Do the right thing” after family reunion service compromised Update now! Chrome patches critical RCE vulnerability in Safe Browsing Combatting SMS and phone fraud: UK government issu...
Some Android users can disable 2G now and why that is a good thing
The Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF has happily informed people that Google has quietly pushed a new feature to its Android operating system allowing users to optionally disable 2G at the modem level in their phones. This is beneficial because 2G uses weak encryption between the tower and devi...
Card skimmers strike Sotheby’s in Brightcove supply chain attack
Over 100 real estate websites have been compromised by the same web skimmer in a supply chain attack. So what happened? On Monday, January 3, Palo Alto said it had found a supply chain attack that used a cloud video platform to distribute skimmer campaigns. The attacker injected the skimmer’s...
A week in security (Dec 13 – 19)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Spear phish, whale phish, regular phish: What’s the difference? Kronos crippled by ransomware, service may be out for weeks 5 security lessons from 18 months of working from home What SMBs can do to protect against Log4Shell attacks After Log4j, December’s Patch...
5 security lessons from 18 months of working from home
A little more than 20 months ago, many people around the world were asked or instructed to work from home to help slow the spread of COVID-19. It caused a seismic change to the way we all do business. Now, our latest research reveals how IT decision makers security concerns have been changed by...
Click “OK” to defeat MFA
Researchers have discovered that Nobelium—the threat actor behind the infamous SolarWinds supply-chain attack, the Sunburst backdoor, TEARDROP malware, GoldMax malware, and other malicious activities—has found a way to use stolen credentials even when they require multi-factor authentication that...
Fake job interviews plague major game developers like Riot Games and Rockstar
If you’re job hunting at the moment, be on your guard. The pandemic is still around. Lots of people are in need of employment. Scammers are all too happy to string folks along with bogus employment offers, as is the case here. How have they managed to snare prospective job hunters? Riding on the...