“No social media ’til 16,” and other fixes for a teen mental health crisis, with Dr. Jean Twenge: Lock and Code S04E10

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… You’ve likely felt it: The dull pull downwards of a smartphone scroll. The “five more minutes” just before bed. The sleep still there after waking. The edges of your calm slowly fraying. After more than a decade of our most recent technological experiment, ...

Comcast’s Xfinity breached by Citrix Bleed; 36 million customer’s data accessed

In a notice for its customers, Xfinity acknowledges it recently fell victim to a data security incident. Xfinity is Comcasts brand for TV, internet, and home phone services, sometimes referred to as Comcast Cable Communications. During the data breach the attackers were able to access 35.8 millio...

MongoDB warns customers about data breach after cyberattack

Database provider MongoDB has posted a security notice about a security incident in which attackers obtained unauthorized access to some of its corporate systems. The targeted system contained customer names, phone numbers, and email addresses among other customer account metadata, including syst...

Healthcare giant Norton breach leads to theft of millions of patient records

Healthcare company Norton says a May breach led to the theft of data of around 2.5 million of its patients, as well as employees and their dependents. Norton has more than 40 clinics and hospitals in and around Louisville, Kentucky. In a filing with Maine’s attorney general on Friday, Norton said...

Cyberattack hits 5 hospitals

Canadian health service provider TransForm has published an update about the cyberattack at its member hospitals. TransForm is a not-for-profit, shared service organization founded by the five hospitals in Erie St. Clair to manage their hospital IT, supply chain, and accounts payable needs. The...

Hong Kong residents targeted in malvertising campaigns for WhatsApp, Telegram

Malvertising is a powerful malware or scam delivery mechanism that makes it easy to target specific geographies or even users. A recent article from the South China Morning Post discussed an increase in malicious webpages for the popular WhatsApp communication tool, driven via malicious Google ad...

Clever malvertising attack uses Punycode to look like KeePass’s official website

Threat actors are known for impersonating popular brands in order to trick users. In a recent malvertising campaign, we observed a malicious Google ad for KeePass, the open-source password manager which was extremely deceiving. We previously reported on how brand impersonations are a common...

FBI warns of multiple ransomware attacks on same victim

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI has released a notification that highlights two trends emerging across the ransomware environment. The trends the FBI says it's noticed since July 2023 are: Multiple ransomware attacks on the same victim in close date proximity. New data destruction tactics...

Dependabot impersonators cause trouble on GitHub

GitHub is experiencing issues of the "breached account and malicious code" variety. ITPro reports that unnamed individuals have been compromising accounts and using them to install malware capable of password theft. Its a fairly elaborate scam which even includes imitation of GitHubs popular...

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...

3 reasons why your endpoint security is not enough

Despite widespread deployment of endpoint protection solutions, cyberattacks continue to make headlines, affecting organizations of all sizes and sectors. Recent statistics reveal that 70% of companies were impacted by ransomware last year State of Malware Report 2023, Malwarebytes, and 83%...

Supply chain related security risks, and how to protect against them

By definition, a supply chain is the network of all the individuals, organizations, resources, activities and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product. In only a few rare cases does one organization have full control over every step in the entire process. The links in such a supp...

The end looms for Meta's behavioural advertising in Europe

The EU is going toe to toe with Meta once more, with the social network giant conceding defeat yet again. After having taken Meta to task for various privacy violations and data breaches, Meta is now having to provide European users with a way to opt out of behavioural advertising. The threat of...

How to protect your child's identity

As we have mentioned before, identity theft is a serious problem, especially when it affects children. Identity thieves love preying on minors, simply because it usually takes longer before the theft is noticed. A persons identity represents a certain value. If it is stolen and abused, it can cau...

A week in security (May 29 - June 4)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Barracuda Networks patches zero-day vulnerability in Email Security Gateway CISA issues warning to US businesses: Beware of China's state-sponsored cyber actor Microsoft gives Apple a migraine Financial services company OneMain fined $4.25 million for security laps...

A week in security (May 22-28)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Update now: 9 vulnerabilities impact Cisco Small Business Series ChatGPT: Cybersecurity friend or foe? Webinar recap: EDR vs MDR for business success Identity crisis: How an anti-porn crusade could jam the Internet, featuring Alec Muffett: Lock and Code S04E11...

AI generated Pentagon explosion photograph goes viral on Twitter

Twitters recent changes to checkmark verification continue to cause chaos, this time in the realm of potentially dangerous misinformation. A checkmarked account claimed to show images of explosions close to important landmarks like the Pentagon. These images quickly went viral despite being AI...

Webinar recap: EDR vs MDR for business success

Did you miss our recent webinar on EDR vs. MDR? Don't worry, we've got you covered! In this blog post, we'll be recapping the highlights and key takeaways from the webinar hosted by Marcin Kleczynski, CEO and co-founder of Malwarebytes, and featuring guest speaker Joseph Blankenship, Vice Preside...

Windows 11 is showing its first signs of Rust

Some important changes are heading to Windows which should make the operating system quite a bit more secure than it is now. At the end of April, Microsofts VP of OS Security and Enterprise referenced upcoming changes to Windows involving the programming language Rust. Rust matches the performanc...

Brightline breach hits at least 964,000 people, US records show

A pediatric behavioral health startup called Brightline informed its customers that their protected health data may have been stolen as part of a separate ransomware attack on a Brightline third-party service provider. "Based on the investigation, we identified a limited amount of protected healt...

Microsoft vs Google spat sees users rolling back security updates to fix browser issues

We like to imagine were in total control of our desktop experience, carefully curated to look and work the way we want it to. However, every so often a story comes along which reminds us how little control we have when the big players notice one another's existence. A recent Windows update really...

Google and Apple cooperate to address unwanted tracking

Google and Apple have announced that they are looking for input from industry participants and advocacy groups on a draft specification to alert users in the event of suspected unwanted tracking. Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee have stated that they will support the...

How small businesses can secure employees' mobile devices

Fact: 77% of organizations are convinced they're capable of protecting their mobile devices--smartphones, tablets, and laptops including Chromebooks--from cybersecurity threats. Another fact: A third of those organizations aren't protecting their mobile devices at all. And that matters--in its...

Don't plug your phone into a free charging station, warns FBI

In a recent tweet, the FBI office in Denver warned consumers against using free public charging stations, stating that criminals have managed to hijack public chargers with the objective of infecting devices with malware or other software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or...

IoT garage door exploit allows for remote opening attack

A popular and reasonably cheap garage door controller is making waves in the news, and not in a good way. Ars Technica reports that the $80 devices created by Nexx are suffering from a number of security issues which could compromise the safety of your home. A Medium post by researcher Sam Sabeta...

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...

Should you share passwords with your partner?

To share or not to share? When it comes to love and romance, that is the password question, isn't it? This Valentine's Day, we attempt to lift the lid on this steamy cybersecurity subject to see if two people in a romantic relationship are both on board on the matter of exchanging passwords with...

Grand Theft Auto 5 exploit allows cheaters to tamper with your data

Yesterday I spent some time helping to fix a relatives gaming PC. Their gaming data tied to Rockstars Grand Theft Auto 5 GTAV had somehow become corrupted and was no longer functional. I managed to repair the account and restore everything back to the way it was, but this isnt the end of the stor...

Microsoft to end direct sale of Windows 10 licenses at the end of January

Windows 10 is slowly coming to an end, with one more way to purchase the operating system riding off into the sunset. Microsoft is posting notices in a variety of locations to confirm it will no longer sell Windows 10 licenses directly. Support remains in place for the time being, as is the usual...

US Department of the Interior's passwords "easily cracked"

It's bad news for the US Department of the Interior--a Government watchdogs security audit has revealed its passwords are simply not up to the job of warding off cracking attempts. The audit's wordy title was not kind: P@s$w0rds at the U.S. Department of the Interior: Easily Cracked Passwords, La...

LastPass updates security notice with information about a recent incident

The password management company LastPasss notified customers in late December about a recent security incident. The notice was posted as an update of the security incident previously reported in August of 2022, which also was updated and covered on November 30, 2022. According to LastPass, an...

5 SaaS security best practices

Just about anywhere you look, organizations are relying on Software-as-a-Service SaaS apps like Dropbox and Hubspot to help power their businesses. With more SaaS apps, however, comes increased security risks. While SaaS is without a doubt the easiest and most accessible way for businesses to rea...

A week in security (November 28 - December 4)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Fraudster site iSpoof shut down, 142 arrested internationally 3 threats to watch out for this Cyber Monday Twitter user data leaks continue to drip from the faucet China-made equipment banned by FCC due to national security threat Sensitive police records stolen an...

5 technologies that help prevent cyberattacks for SMBs

The intel you need to secure your business--delivered straight to your inbox From industry tips and best practices to the latest Malwarebytes product releases and how-tos, our Business newsletter is chock-full of the best of our business blog. Subscribe to our Business newsletter today. Now more...

Steam account credentials phished in browser-in-a-browser attack

Steam users are once again under threat from a particularly sneaky tactic used to steal account details. As with so many Steam attacks currently, it accommodates for the possibility of users relying on Steam Guard Mobile Authentication for additional protection. It also makes use of a recent...

How to set up an Android for your kids

Last week, we gave you some tips on how you can set up a new iPhone for your child to use as they start this school year. Today, we'll look at doing the same for Android phones. Setting up an Android isn't very different from setting up an iPhone as both platforms follow a similar logic to making...

Warning issued about Vice Society ransomware targeting the education sector

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center MS-ISAC have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory CSA after observing Vice Society threat actors disproportionately targeting the...

Watch out for this SMS phish promising a tax refund

Imagine logging into your bank’s website after responding to a text message claiming you’re due a refund, only to see a warning to watch out for bogus texts: Beware of SMS phishing! For those who dont read Dutch, the warning reads: Never respond to unusual emails or texts! Fraudsters often send...

Phishers make a date with your calendar apps

Calendars are a rich source of bad behaviour for scammers and spammers. They’re one of the most prolific tools the workplace has for collaborative actions and general cross-purpose messaging. They’ve been misused by bad actors for many years now, most commonly spamming unwary potential victims an...

Ransomware gangs are recruiting breached individuals to persuade companies to pay up

Youve heard about ransomware, where attackers lock up your files and demand a payment for the decryption key. You may also have heard about ransomware attackers not only locking up your files, but also threatening to release the stolen data in an attempt to get you to pay up. What you may not hav...

Watch out for the Steam skin “free knife” scam

Have you ever had someone run up to you in the street and insist you take their free knife? I hope not, because that’s a good way to wind up in a 60-minute police procedural drama. In video game land, however, anything goes. A certain type of scam is showing signs of activity at the moment and it...

Google Play sign-ins can be abused to track another person’s movements

Even people that have been involved in cybersecurity for over 20 years make mistakes. I’m not sure whether that is a comforting thought for anyone or whether everyone should be worried now. But it is what it is and I make it a habit of owning my mistakes. So here goes. With the aid of Google I wa...

Panic attack: Apple scams apply pressure

We've seen a number of Apple-related phishes in circulation over the last few days. While most of them already lead to deactivated phishing sites, we thought it was worth highlighting some of the tricks being used to bait people into handing over payment details at the moment. Fake receipt emails...

Fake Flash Player installs AtlasRAT

Researchers have described a campaign that delivers a remote access Trojan RAT called AtlasRAT through a fake Flash Player installer. People still go looking for “Flash player” because a surprising amount of content and software was built around Flash and never properly migrated. Users often just...

Malwarebytes for Windows, now available on the Microsoft Store

When you’re setting up a new PC or looking for an app you already know, the Microsoft Store is often the easiest place to start. It’s built into Windows and lets you find, install, and update apps in one place. Malwarebytes for Windows is now available there too. Malwarebytes for Windows is still...

Vatican’s Click To Pray app exposed personal data from 700,000 users

A prayer app launched by Pope Francis in 2019 contained a security flaw that exposed the personal information of hundreds of thousands of users before it was finally fixed this year. The app, Click To Pray, was developed by La Machi Communication for Good Causes for the Pope's Worldwide Prayer...

Beyond the Play Store: How Android threats really spread

You probably think of your phone's security the way you think of your front door: as long as you're downloading apps from the Play Store, you're safe. And for the most part, that's true. Google reviews apps before they’re published. But some apps reach your phone without ever passing through the...

Chick-fil-A loyalty accounts hijacked using stolen passwords

Fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is warning customers after attackers hijacked loyalty accounts using stolen passwords in a credential stuffing attack. Chick-fil-A says it detected suspicious login activity against some Chick-fil-A One accounts in June and launched an investigation. The company later...

New ClickLock Stealer locks your Mac until you hand over your password

ClickLock Stealer is a new, modular macOS infostealer delivered via ClickFix-style phishing pages that can lock a victim’s Mac, steal their macOS password, browser and password manager data, cryptocurrency wallets, and then leave behind a persistent backdoor. The malware was discovered by Group-I...

The backlash against Flock cameras is spreading

Flock-style ALPR systems carry serious privacy and civil-liberties risks, and the backlash is now starting to show up in agency decisions too. For those not yet familiar with Flock, Flock Safety operates an automated license plate recognition ALPR system that uses cameras and computer vision to...