If only you had to worry about malware, with Jason Haddix: Lock and Code S05E04

Today on the Lock and Code podcast… If your IT and security teams think malware is bad, wait until they learn about everything else. In 2024, the modern cyberattack is a segmented, prolonged, and professional effort, in which specialists create strictly financial alliances to plant malware on...

Apple now requires a judge’s order to hand over your push notification data

Last week, we reported on how US government agencies have been asking Apple and Google for metadata related to push notifications, but the companies arent allowed to tell users about it happening. The content of the notifications is diverse. It ranges from a weather app warning you about rain to ...

Update your iPhones! Apple fixes two zero-days in iOS

Apple has released emergency security updates for iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 to patch for two zero-day vulnerabilities that may have been actively exploited. Apple said both vulnerabilities were in the WebKit component, which is the engine that powers Safari browser on Macs as well as all...

Ransomware gangs and Living Off the Land (LOTL) attacks: A deep dive

We’ve told you about ransomware-as-a-service RaaS gangs; we’ve told you about living off the Land LOTL attacks. What do you get when you bring the two together? Bad news. Our recent report, Threat Brief: Ransomware Gangs & Living Off the Land Attacks, takes a deep dive into why the intersection o...

A week in security (November 20 – November 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Windows Hello fingerprint authentication can be bypassed on popular laptops Citrix Bleed widely exploitated, warn government agencies Chrome pushes forward with plans to limit ad blockers in the future $19 Stanley cup deal is a Black Friday scam Malwarebytes consum...

Face search engine PimEyes stops searches of children’s faces

In what may come as a surprise, subscription-based face search engine PimEyes seems to have realized that their service can be used for nefarious purposes. PimEyes’ CEO Giorgi Gobronidze told the New York Times that it has taken technical measures to block such searches as part of a “no harm...

Involved in a data breach? Here’s what you need to know

If you've received a message from a company saying your data has been caught up in a breach, you might be unsure what to do next. We've put together some tips which should help you when the more or less inevitable happens. 1. Check the companys advice Every breach is different, so check the...

Microsoft AI researchers accidentally exposed terabytes of sensitive data

Warnings about including credentials, keys, and tokens when sharing code on publicly accessible repositories shouldnt be necessary. It should speak for itself that you dont just hand over the keys to your data. But what if a misconfiguration ends in a supposed internal storage account becoming...

Supply chain attacks disrupt emergency services communications

A supply chain attack rendered two ambulance trusts incapable of accessing electronic patient records in the UK. The two services, which operate in a region of 12 million people, were not targeted directly. Instead, the attack was aimed at a third-party technology provider used by both the South...

How to set up computer security for your parents

Last Sunday July 23, 2023 was National Parents Day. And maybe you are wondering how you can repay your parents for turning you into the person you are today. And we have an idea that shouldn't cost you much more than some of your time. Help them to shore up their cybersecurity, if they need it. I...

Amazon in-van delivery driver footage makes its way online

Footage from technology used to monitor Amazon delivery drivers is leaking onto the internet. AI-enabled equipment which keeps an eye on the drivers speed, location, and other activities is part of the growing trend of workplace surveillance. In theory where drivers are concerned it could flag a...

A week in security (July 10 - 16)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Tax preparation firms shared sensitive information with Meta Ransomware making big money through "big game hunting" Malwarebytes stops 100% of Advanced Threats in latest AV-Test assessment From Malvertising to Ransomware: A ThreatDown webinar recap Ransomware revie...

Tax preparation firms shared sensitive information with Meta

A group of seven US senators has sent a letter to the heads of the IRS, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS watchdog, revealing that they have found evidence that reveals "a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms." According...

UPS warns customers of phishing attempts after data accessed

UPS Canada is warning customers in Canada of potential data exposure and the risk of phishing. People have started to receive letters like the one below from UPS, which some have assumed were "just" regular phishing alerts. As it turns out, the letter is specifically about the potential exposure ...

Edge browser feature sends images you view back to Microsoft

A relatively new service provided by Microsofts browser Edge sends images you've viewed online back to Microsoft. A new feature labelled Enhance images in Microsoft Edge has raised some privacy concerns. The feature is designed to upscale low resolution images, making them sharper, and improving...

Vice Society: The #1 cyberthreat to schools, colleges, and universities

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 didn't pay a ransom. This provides the best overall picture of...

Amazon's Ring cameras were used to spy on customers

Every single Amazon Ring employee was able to access every single customer video, even when it wasn't necessary for their jobs. Not only that, but the employees--along with workers from a third-party contractor in Ukraine--could also download any of those videos and then save and share them as th...

Instagram scam promises money in exchange for your image

Were seeing a number of complaints on Reddit and elsewhere regarding a scam which flares up every so often. Its called the "Muse scam", and targets users of Instagram. Let's hear from one of the Reddit posters impacted: An artist approached me on Instagram asking if they could use one of my photo...

LockBit ransomware on Mac: Should we worry?

One of the big headlines over the weekend is LockBit, the high-profile Russian ransomware gang, decided to expand its portfolio of potential victims by creating and releasing its first macOS payload, potentially triggering members of the Apple community to panic. But have no fear: Apple security...

Living Off the Land (LOTL) attacks: Detecting ransomware gangs hiding in plain sight

Regular readers of our monthly ransomware review read our April edition here know that Ransomware-as-a-Service RaaS gangs have been making headlines globally with their disruptive attacks on organizations. Sometimes, though, its not enough to merely know about of the problem. In order to truly...

Ransomware in the UK, 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 ...

"Just awful" experiment points suicidal teens at chatbot

After getting in hot water for using an AI chatbot to provide mental health counseling, non-profit startup Koko has now been criticized for experimenting with young adults at risk of harming themselves. Worse, the young adults were unaware they were test subjects. Motherboard reports the experime...

iPhone calendar spam: What it is, and how to remove it

If you open up your iPhone and see a variety of messages claiming that youve been hacked, your phone is not protected, that viruses have damaged your phone, or, my personal favourite, "Click to get rid of annoying ads", fear not. Its quite possible youve accidentally wandered into a common form o...

$800,000 recovered from Business Email Compromise attack

We continue to see the damaging repercussions of business email compromise BEC impacting organisations across the US and elsewhere. The Houston Chronicle reports that law enforcement seized $800,000 from a bank account used for pillaging funds from a construction management company. The attack BE...

GitHub revokes several certificates after unauthorized access

In a call to action, GitHub warned users of GitHub Desktop for Mac and Atom that it will revoke certificates which were exposed during unauthorized access to a set of repositories used in the planning and development of GitHub Desktop and Atom. Revoking these certificates will invalidate some...

Video game playing FISH live streams credit card 'theft'

A fish is in hot water metaphorically speaking after having performed some incredible antics on a video game live stream. The fish, known for playing popular video game titles to completion on live streams, decided to take that whole gamer lifestyle thing a little too far and went on a rip-roarin...

Maternal & Family Health Services discloses ransomware attack months after discovery

Maternal & Family Health Services MFHS, a nonprofit healthcare giant based in Pennsylvania, said in an advisory and press release that it has suffered a ransomware attack which led to the potential exposure of sensitive data of patients, employees, and vendors. That data includes names, addresses...

Play ransomware group claims to have stolen hotel chain data

H-Hotels, a large hospitality chain with 60 hotels across several countries including Germany and Switzerland has announced it has fallen victim to a ransomware attack. The incident, which took place on December 11, is allegedly a double whammy of hijacked devices and data theft…if a ransomware...

Chasing cryptocurrency through cyberspace, with Brian Carter: Lock and Code S03E26

On June 7, 2021, the US Department of Justice announced a breakthrough: Less than one month after the oil and gas pipeline company Colonial Pipeline had paid its ransomware attackers roughly $4.4 million in bitcoin in exchange for a decryption key that would help the company get its systems back ...

New streaming ad technology plays hide-and-seek with gamers

A new form of digital advertising is looking to make its way to you courtesy of video gaming. However, theres a rather peculiar twist involved. These ads wont appear in front of you while playing; in fact, theyre designed to trigger when someone else is in-game. The most baffling twist of all?...

A cyber threat hunter talks about what he’s learned in his 16+ year cybersecurity career

Hiep Hinh is a Principal MDR Analyst at Malwarebytes, where he supports 24/7/365 Managed Detection and Response MDR efforts. Hiep has over 16 years of experience in the cybersecurity and intelligence fields, including for the US Army as an intelligence analyst and for the Airforce Computer...

Suspected LAPSUS$ group member arrested in Brazil

The Brazilian Federal Police have arrested a suspect after an investigation into last year's breach of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Responsibility for the breach was claimed by the LAPSUS$ group, when users found a message stating that system data had been copied and deleted and was in the...

Microsoft fixes driver blocklist placing users at risk from BYOVD attacks

There may be an all-new acronym for you to try and remember, as a result of Microsoft fixing a lingering issue. This issue is called Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver BYOVD, and BYOVD has been popping up in various forms for the last few months. These attacks may have been less impactful if a...

Court rules webcam monitoring of remote employee was an invasion of privacy

A Dutch court has ruled that the decision to fire a remote employee because he refused to keep his webcam on during working hours was unjustified. The employee worked remotely for a Florida-based software development company with a Dutch office. The court ruled that the request to keep the webcam...

Ransomware-affected school district refuses to pay, gets stolen data released

Data stolen from Los Angeles Unified School District has been leaked online, after staff refused to pay the ransom related to a ransomware attack. The attackers threatened to release the data if the ransom wasn't paid, and so release it they did. The double extortion tactic Threatening to release...

The FTC will go after companies misusing location, health, and other sensitive data

After the overturning of Roe V Wade, many feared that using, having access to, and sharing reproductive and sexual health data—once done freely—would be outlawed with the practice of abortion in many states. To protect such data from falling into the wrong hands, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs D-CA...

Watch out! Tinder and Grindr users targeted by cruel scammers using real abuse photos

A horrible catfishing scam is using real abuse photos in order to lure in unsuspecting victims on sites like Tinder and Grindr. Recently unearthed by Bleeping Computer, it works like this: Boy meets good-looking girl on dating site. The longer they talk, boy notices the conversation turning into ...

A special browser designed for online banking. Good idea, or not so much?

The German Sparkasse bank has launched a browser that is especially designed to do your online banking. The browser called S-Protect is available for macOS and Windows users. The idea is interesting, since having a separate browser for banking can certainly add an extra layer of security. Separat...

$600 a week to wrap your car? It’s a scam

A friend of mine recently received a text message which they described as "intriguing, but nonsensical". They were convinced it was some sort of scam, but they werent sure what the scammers were up to. Would it turn out to be some sort of phishing attempt? A telephone scam? Banking fraud? That on...

A week in security (May 2 – 8)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Google, Apple, and Microsoft step hand in hand into a passwordless future OpenSea warns of Discord channel compromise Avoid these Instagram “Get rich with Bitcoin” scams Steer clear of fake premium mobile app unlockers How Instagram scammers talk users out of their...

Craft fair vendors targeted by fake event scammers on Facebook

A real world scam which sucks the fun out of craft fairs has caused nothing but stress for victims. It may sound bizarre, but it’s actually a fairly popular attack focused on small/self-run business owners selling their own creations. Are you ready for a trip to the craft fair? You’re a small...

North Korean Lazarus APT group targets blockchain tech companies

A new advisory issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA, and the US Treasury Department Treasury, highlights the cyberthreats associated with cryptocurrency thefts and tactics used by a North Korean state-sponsored advanced...

Zloader, another botnet, bites the dust

Microsoft has announced that its Digital Crimes Unit DCU has taken legal and technical action to disrupt a malicious botnet called Zloader. Zloader or Zbot are common names used to refer to any malware related to the ZeuS family. There are a lot of those because the ZeuS banking Trojan source cod...

Hive ransomware: Researchers figure out a method to decrypt files

Files encrypted by ransomware cant be recovered without obtaining the decryption key, if the encryption has been done properly. But that doesnt seem to be the case for Hive ransomware. Researchers from the Kookmin University in Korea have published a method for decrypting the data scrambled by...

Android malware BRATA can wipe devices

Cleafy, a cybersecurity firm specializing in online fraud, has published new details about banking Trojan BRATA Brazilian Remote Access Tool, Android, a known malware strain that first became widespread in 2019. BRATA is now being used to perform factory resets on victims machines. Its rare for...

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...

Dark Souls servers taken offline over hacking fears

There’s been trouble brewing over the weekend for players of the smash-hit Dark Souls series. PvP servers player vs player were temporarily shut down by the developers after a hack. PvP servers for Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls: Remastered have been temporarily deactivated to allow t...

REvil ransomware gang busted by Russian Federal Security Service

Eight members of the REvil ransomware group have been arrested in Russia and will be pressed with criminal charges. Russias intelligence bureau, the FSB, announced on Friday that it had conducted an operation together with the Interior Ministry in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the regions of Moscow...

Ransomware cyberattack forces New Mexico jail to lock down

Five days after the new year, the Metropolitan Detention Center MDC in Bernalillo County, New Mexico suddenly went on lockdown. The reason? A ransomware cyberattack has knocked the jails internet connection offline, rendering most of their data systems, security cameras, and automatic doors...

Night Sky: the new corporate ransomware demanding a sky high ransom

Theres a new ransomware in town—isnt there always?—and its, unsurprisingly, after corporation-sized businesses. Its called Night Sky, and it was first spotted and revealed by MalwareHunterTeam, a group on Twitter who hunts malware online, on the first day of 2022. First day of the year, and a new...