Smart lightbulb and app vulnerability puts your Wi-Fi password at risk

New research highlights another potential danger from IoT devices, with a popular make of smart light bulbs placing your Wi-Fi network password at risk. Researchers from the University of London and Universita di Catania produced a paper explaining the dangers of common IoT products. In this case...

Alert Prioritization and Guided Remediation: The future of EDR

Sleepless nights, missed threats, a deluge of notifications--the common symptoms of the bane of IT teams everywhere: Alert fatigue. Out of the litany of problems IT teams face every day, alert fatigue might be among the most pressing--especially considering that 30 percent of EDR alerts are ignor...

A week in security (August 7 - August 13)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Zoom clarifies user consent requirement when training its AI Several hospitals still counting the cost of widespread ransomware attack Old exploit kits still kicking around in 2023 YouTube makes sweeping changes to tackle spam on Shorts videos Googles "browse...

Google’s “browse privately” is nothing more than a word play, lawyers say

Google will have to appear in court after a judge denied their request for summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by users alleging the company illegally invaded the privacy of millions of people. Lawsuits against big tech over privacy issues are not much of a surprise these days, unfortunate as tha...

Phishing campaigns are using AMP URLs to avoid detection

Researchers have found a new phishing tactic which uses Google Accelerated Mobile Pages AMP to make URLs look trustworthy. The tactic is designed to slip past both software and users on the lookout for strange and untrustworthy domain names. AMP is an open-source HTML framework designed to make w...

Spy vs. spy: Exploring the LetMeSpy hack, with maia arson crimew

The language of a data breach, no matter what company gets hit, is largely the same. There's the stolen data--be it email addresses, credit card numbers, or even medical records. There are the users--unsuspecting, everyday people who, through no fault of their own, mistakenly put their trust into...

Proposed Massachusetts law to ban sale of your mobile location data

Cellular location phone data may be banned from sale in the state of Massachusetts, under a proposed law set to ruffle some data broker feathers. The selling of location data has long been a point of contention for privacy experts. As with so much bulk user data, claims of anonymity from the...

Google plans to scrape everything you post online to train its AI

Additions to Googles Privacy Policy are making some observers worry that all of your content is about to be fed into Google's AI tools. Alterations to the T&Cs now explicitly state that your "publicly available information" will be used to train in-house Google AI models alongside other products...

Google adds unwanted tracker detection to Find My Device network

Last week we reported that Google and Apple were looking for input on a draft specification to alert users in the event of suspected unwanted tracking. Apple and Google said other tracker makers like Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee have expressed interest in their draft. Now,...

The one and only password tip you need

OK, its time for me to keep a promise. Back in October 2022, I wrote an article called Why almost everything we told you about passwords was wrong. The article summarizes how a lot of what youve been told about passwords over the years was either wrong change your passwords as often as your...

How to protect your small business from social engineering

When Alvin Staffin received an email from his boss, he didn't question it. In the email, Gary Bragg, then-president of Pennsylvania law firm O'Neill, Bragg & Staffin, asked Staffin to wire $580,000 to a Bank of China account. Staffin, who was VP and in charge of banking, sent the money through as...

Massive malvertising campaign targets seniors via fake Weebly sites

Knowing their audience is something scammers excel at, and for very good reason. This is particularly true for tech support scammers whose prime targets are seniors. By understanding what retirees are searching for and abusing various online platforms, crooks can precisely go after the demographi...

Ransomware in France, April 2022–March 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 attacks where the victim opted not to pay a ransom. This provides the best overall picture ...

New tool allows you to opt out of Facebook's targeted advertising

After Meta Facebook and Instagram switched the legal basis for targeting advertising from automatic consent to opt-out, privacy watchdog noyb has built a tool for users to opt out of targeted advertising and various other claims made by Meta in an easy and legally sound way. After losing several...

Western Digital confirms breach, affects My Cloud and SanDisk users

Western Digital, a big brand in digital storage, says it has suffered a "network security incident--potentially ransomware--which resulted in a breach and some system disruptions in its business operations. The company identified the incident on March 26 and said an unnamed third party unlawfully...

Fake ransomware demands payment without actually encrypting files

Fake it till you make it ransomware groups are trying to get rich off the backs of genuine ransomware authors. Why are they "fake it till you make it"? Because they dont actually create ransomware or compromise networks in any way. Theyre simply lying through their teeth and hoping that recipient...

USB bombs sent to news organizations

We've warned about the possible dangers arising from plugging in unknown USB sticks before, but the dangers we're concerned with are normally confined to your data. However, this week we learned a far more serious threat. No fewer than five different news agencies in Ecuador were sent parcels...

"ViLE" members posed as police officers and extorted victims

Two men have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit computer intrusions after they allegedly extorted victims by threatening to publish their personal information online--a practice known as doxxing. In a press release, the US Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York...

How to avoid potentially unwanted programs

If youve ever downloaded software onto your computer, chances are youve unknowingly cluttered your machine with PUPs. Heres what you need to know about these sneaky programs. What are PUPs? If you're thinking baskets of doe-eyed baby dogs, then you're sadly mistaken. PUPs is the acronym for...

LockBit ransomware demands $2 million for Pierce Transit data

The Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation Pierce Transit has fallen victim to a cyberattack using LockBit ransomware. Pierce Transit is a public transit operator in Washington state. The attack began on February 14, 2023, and required Pierce Transit to implement temporary...

How to work from home securely, the NSA way

People working remotely is no longer unusual, so the National Security Agency NSA has produced a short Best Practices PDF document detailing how remote workers can keep themselves safe from harm. In fact, the guide can also be applied to people using computers at home generally and is written in ...

WordPress sites backdoored with ad fraud plugin

WordPress is an immensely popular content management system CMS powering over 43% of all websites. Many webmasters will monetize their sites by running ads and need to draw particular attention to search engine optimization SEO techniques to maximize their revenues. But some people will take a...

Google sponsored ads malvertising targets password manager

We have recently written about malvertising campaigns that leverage Google paid advertisements to try and trick people into downloading malware instead of the software they were looking for. This malware then stole login credentials from the affected system. Now, our researchers found that the...

2023 prediction: Security workforce shortage will lead to nationally significant cyberattack

If 2022 was any indication, businesses are about to face an unprecedented volume, frequency, and sophistication of cyberthreats in 2023. Global cyberattacks have increased by 483 percent over the last two years, and at the current rate of growth, damage from such attacks will amount to $10.5...

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...

US school district sues Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok over harm to kids

Public schools in a Seattle district filed a lawsuit on Friday against parent companies of the biggest social networks on the internet, alleging social media is to blame for "a youth mental health crisis", and saying these companies have purposefully designed, refined, and operated their platform...

Slack private code on GitHub stolen

Online collaboration platform Slack reported on New Year's Eve it had suffered a "security incident" where some of its code stored on GitHub was stolen. According to the post from the company's security team, Slack's private code repositories were accessed using swiped employee tokens. No custome...

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"...

Police warn of fake law enforcement arrest warrant calls

Brownsville Police Department is warning about scammers impersonating law enforcement in order to extract money from potential victims. The scam involves pressure from an immediate threat, several ways to extract yourself from this non-existent claim of wrongdoing, and multiple levels of...

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...

5 essential security tips for SMBs

In any business, the security of each computer is intimately connected to the security of every other computer. Interconnectedness allows attackers to turn a breach, a fault, or an oversight on one machine into access on all the machines its connected to. That means any attack on any computer is ...

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...

Data Access Agreement offers a new path for UK - US data requests

Requesting data for the purposes of law enforcement may be about to become a little easier for the British Government. The Data Access Agreement DAA went live on Monday this week. The DAA is authorised by something called the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data CLOUD Act, which itself has come...

TikTok faces $28m fine for failing to protect children's privacy

TikTok is no stranger to controversy where data usage is concerned. Back in 2021, the social media dance extravaganza platform agreed to pay $92m to settle dozens of lawsuits alleging harvesting of personal data. There has also been concern with regard to whether or not settings were enough to ke...

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...

The North Face hit by credential stuffing attack

The North Face clothing brand, which specialises in outdoor and heavy weather outerwear, has experienced a "large-scale" credential stuffing attack. This has resulted in no fewer than 194,905 accounts being compromised. What is credential stuffing, and how did it affect The North Face customers?...

Slack flaw exposed users' hashed passwords

Slack, the workplace communication platform, has notified some of its users that their hashed passwords have been subject to exposure for the last five years. The company wasnt specific in its notice, but Wired said that the flaw was in one of its "low-friction features". The flaw exposed hashed...

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...

Wrestling star Mick Foley’s Twitter compromised, selling PS5 consoles

One of the biggest wrestling stars around, Mick Foley, had his Twitter account hijacked in an attempt to legitimize a very popular scam. When a well known individual has their social media accounts compromised, disaster looms, as everything from phishing to malware distribution waits in the wings...

A week in security (July 25 - July 31)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Update Google Chrome now! New version includes 11 important security patches Lightning Framework, modular Linux malware Malware spent months hoovering up credit card details from 300 US restaurants Lock down your Neopets account: Data breach being investigated Demo...

Malware spent months hoovering up credit card details from 300 US restaurants

Criminal hackers have been able to steal at least 50,000 credit cards from 300 restaurants in the US, after launching two Magecart campaigns that target the MenuDrive, Harbortouch, and InTouchPOS online payment platforms: Magecart is a web-skimmer—malware that is injected onto a vulnerable websit...

Roe v. Wade: How the cops can use your data: Lock and Code S03E15

On the evening of June 23, in the United States, millions of women went to bed with a Constitutional right to choose to have an abortion, and they went to bed with the many assurances that are tied to that right—to speak about getting an abortion, to organize and provide support to those seeking...

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...

7-Zip gets Mark of the Web feature, increases protection for users

One of the most popular zip programs around, 7-Zip, now offers support for "Mark of the Web" MOTW, which gives users better protection from malicious files. This is good news. But what does that actually mean? In the bad old days, opening up a downloaded document could be a fraught exercise...

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...

Hunting down your data with Whitney Merrill: Lock and Code S03E11

Depending on where you live, you can ask a company to hand over all the data it has collected about you and, in a matter of weeks as mandated by law, that company has to fork that information over. Whether the company will abide on time, however, is a different story. In the European Union, the...

Why you should act like your CEO’s password is “qwerty”

A poor password at the highest levels of an organisation can cost a company millions in losses. Recent findings show that half of IT leaders store passwords in shared documents. On top of that, it seems that folks at executive level are not picking good passwords either. Researchers from NordPass...