What’s there to save about social media? (Lock and Code S06E20)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … "Connection" was the promise—and goal—of much of the early internet. No longer would people be separated from vital resources and news that was either too hard to reach or made simply inaccessible by governments. No longer would education be guarded behind...

Scam Facebook groups send malicious Android malware to seniors

An infostealer and banking Trojan rolled into one is making the rounds in Facebook groups aimed at "active seniors". Attackers used social engineering methods to lure targets into joining fake Facebook groups that appeared to promote travel and community activities—such as trips, dance classes, a...

Apple fixes critical font processing bug. Update now!

Apple has released important security updates to address a critical vulnerability in FontParser —the part of MacOS/iOS/iPadOS that processes fonts. Identified as CVE-2025-43400, the flaw was discovered internally by Apple and allows an attacker to craft a malicious font that can cause apps to cra...

ChatGPT solves CAPTCHAs if you tell it they’re fake

If you’re seeing fewer or different CAPTCHA puzzles in the near future, that’s not because website owners have agreed that they’re annoying, but it might be because they no longer prove that the visitor is human. For those that forgot what CAPTCHA stands for: Completely Automated Public Turing te...

Airline data broker selling 5 billion passenger records to US government

We already knew that the US airline industry gave the government access to passenger records. However, this week it emerged that at least five billion passenger records are being sold to government agencies via a searchable database—far more than was initially believed. A few weeks ago,...

Meta ignored child sex abuse in VR, say whistleblowers

Two former employees at Meta testified against the company at a Senate hearing this week, accusing it of downplaying the dangers of child abuse in its virtual reality VR environment. The whistleblowers say they saw incidents where children were asked for sex acts and nude photos in Facebook's VR...

When AI chatbots leak and how it happens

In a recent article on Cybernews there were two clear signs of how fast the world of AI chatbots is growing. A company I had never even heard of had over 150 million app downloads across its portfolio, and it also had an exposed unprotected Elasticsearch instance. This needs a bit of an...

Plex users: Reset your password!

Media streaming platform Plex has warned customers about a data breach, advising them to reset their password. Plex said an attacker broke into one of its databases, allowing them to access a "limited subset" of customer data. This included email addresses, usernames, hashed passwords, and...

WhatsApp fixes vulnerability used in zero-click attacks

WhatsApp says it has issued an update to patch a vulnerability that has been used in conjunction with an Apple vulnerability to target specific users and compromise their devices. Reportedly, attackers used this exploit against dozens of WhatsApp users, and WhatsApp has notified those affected:...

All Apple users should update after company patches zero-day vulnerability in all platforms

Apple has released security updates for iPhones, iPads and Macs to fix a zero-day vulnerability a vulnerability which Apple was previously unaware of that is reportedly being used in targeted attacks. The updates cover: iOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 18.6.2 iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro...

Netflix scammers target jobseekers to trick them into handing over their Facebook logins

In what seems a phishing attack targeted at a certain audience, scammers are impersonating Netflix and reaching out to marketing staff. The initial mail looks like what you might expect from a headhunter or a human resources HR recruitment specialist. "I hope this note finds you well," the email...

Adult sites trick users into Liking Facebook posts using a clickjack Trojan

As the use of age verification to access adult websites increases in various countries around the world, shady websites with adult content have started a timely malware-fueled campaign to promote links to their own websites. During our daily rounds on Facebook, looking for the latest scams, we...

Unexpected snail mail packages are being sent with scammy QR codes, warns FBI

Receiving an unexpected package in the post is not always a pleasant surprise. The FBI has warned the public about unsolicited packages containing a QR code which leads to a website aimed at stealing personal data or downloading malware to the victim's device. The packages are often shipped witho...

VPN use rises following Online Safety Act’s age verification controls

As the UK's Online Safety Act came into effect on Friday—along with its age verification controls—the use of virtual private network VPN services has skyrocketed by up to 20-fold across the region. Top10VPN, which monitors VPN traffic around the world, spotted UK VPN traffic spiking 1,327% on Jul...

How the FBI got everything it wanted (re-air) (Lock and Code S06E15)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… For decades, digital rights activists, technologists, and cybersecurity experts have worried about what would happen if the US government secretly broke into people’s encrypted communications. The weird thing, though, is that, in 2018, it already happened...

Steam games abused to deliver malware once again

A cybercriminal known as EncryptHub aka Larva-208 has reportedly abused the online game platform Steam to distribute information stealers. EncryptHub managed to sneak malicious files into the Chemia game files hosted on Steam. Chemia is an adventurous survival type of game that puts the player in...

Gamers hacked playing Call of Duty: WWII—PC version temporarily taken offline

On Saturday, the Call of Duty team announced that the PC version of Call of Duty: WWII has been taken offline following "reports of an issue." That issue seems to be a serious security problem, after reports surfaced about a remote code execution RCE vulnerability in the game. After Microsoft’s...

5 riskiest places to get scammed online

Scammers love your smartphone. They can text you fraudulent tracking links for packages you never bought. They can profess their empty love to you across your social media apps. They can bombard your email inbox with phishing attempts, impersonate a family member through a phone call, and even...

The data on denying social media for kids (re-air) (Lock and Code S06E12)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … Complex problems often assume complex solutions, but recent observations about increased levels of anxiety and depression, increased reports of loneliness, and lower rates of in-person friendships for teens and children in America today have led some schoo...

44% of people encounter a mobile scam every single day, Malwarebytes finds

It’s become so troublesome owning a phone. Malicious texts pose as package delivery notifications, phishing emails impersonate trusted brands, and unknown calls hide extortion attempts, virtual kidnapping schemes, or AI threats. Confusingly, even legitimate businesses now lean on outreach tactics...

OpenAI forced to preserve ChatGPT chats

OpenAI has protested a court order that forces it to retain its users' conversations. The creator of the ChatGPT AI model objected to the order, which is part of a copyright infringement case against it by The New York Times and other publishers. The news organizations argued that ChatGPT was...

The North Face warns customers about potentially stolen data

For the fourth time in its history, The North Face has notified customers that their account may have been compromised. This time, the company laid blame on a credential stuffing attack. The North Face is best known for its line of outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. With an annual...

A week in security (May 26 – June 1)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Porn sites probed for allegedly failing to prevent minors from accessing content Take back control of your browser—Malwarebytes Browser Guard now blocks search hijacking attempts Deepfake-posting man faces huge $450,000 fine Fake AI video generator tools lure in...

Location, name, and photos of random kids shown to parents in child tracker mix up

Not one but several worried parents that tracked their children by using T-Mobile tracking devices suddenly found that they were looking at the location of random other children. And could not locate their own. T-Mobile sells a small GPS tracker called SyncUP, which can be used to track, among...

Sperm bank breach deposits data into hands of cybercriminals

Sperm donor giant California Cryobank has announced it has suffered a data breach that exposed customers' personal information. California Cryobank CCB is a sperm donation and cryopreservation firm and one of the US’ top sperm banks. As such, it services all US states and over 30 countries...

The dark side of sports betting: How mirror sites help gambling scams thrive

Sports betting is a multi-billion-dollar industry, but behind the flashing lights and promises of easy money lies a hidden underworld of deception. In recent years, shady betting companies have found a clever way to bypass regulations and continue their operations through mirror sites —duplicate...

TikTok: Major investigation launched into platform’s use of children’s data

TikTok is the subject of yet another major investigation, reports BBC News. This time around, the UK’s Information Commissioner's Office ICO is going to look at how the data of 13 to 17-year-olds feeds the algorithm that decides what further content to show. The ICO introduced a children’s code f...

A week in security (February 24 – March 2)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Millions of stalkerware users exposed again PayPal’s "no-code checkout" abused by scammers Countries and companies are fighting at the expense of our data privacy Roblox called "real-life nightmare for children" as Roblox and Discord sued Android happy to check you...

Background check provider data breach affects 3 million people who may not have heard of the company

Employment screening company DISA Global Solutions has filed a data breach notification after a cyber incident on their network. DISA says a third party had access to its environment between February 9, 2024, and April 22, 2024. The attacker may have accessed over three million files containing...

Surveillance pricing is “evil and sinister,” explains Justin Kloczko (Lock and Code S06E04)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … Insurance pricing in America makes a lot of sense so long as you’re one of the insurance companies. Drivers are charged more for traveling long distances, having low credit, owning a two-seater instead of a four, being on the receiving end of a car crash,...

Google Docs used by infostealer ACRStealer as part of attack

An infostealer known as ACRStealer is using legitimate platforms like Google Docs and Steam as part of an attack, according to researchers. ACRStealer is often distributed via the tried and tested method of download as cracks and keygens, which are used in software piracy. The infostealer has bee...

Malwarebytes introduces native ARM support for Windows devices

For the last four years, Malwarebytes has been protecting ARM-based machines running on Apple’s M-series processors. Now, we’ve expanded our protection range to include ARM-based Windows machines such as Copilot+ PCs, including Microsoft Surface Pro, Lenovo Yoga Slim and ThinkPad, and Dell...

A week in security (February 10 – February 16)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: A suicide reveals the lonely side of AI chatbots, with Courtney Brown Lock and Code S06E03 Apple ordered to grant access to users’ encrypted data Phishing evolves beyond email to become latest Android app threat Apple fixes zero-day vulnerability used in "extremely...

Gambling firms are secretly sharing your data with Facebook

While you might think you’re hitting the jackpot, whether you’ve consented to it or not, online gambling sites are playing with your data. Users’ data, including details of webpages they visited and buttons they clicked, are being shared with Meta, Facebook’s parent company. The Observer reports...

The DeepSeek controversy: Authorities ask where does the data come from and how safe is it?

The sudden rise of DeepSeek has raised concerns and questions, especially about the origin and destination of the training data, as well as the security of the data. For those returning from a short holiday away from the news, DeepSeek is a new player on the Artificial Intelligence AI field. The...

Your location or browsing habits could lead to price increases when buying online

Companies are showing customers different prices for the same goods and services based what data they have on them, including details like their precise location or browser history. The name for this method is surveillance pricing, and the FTC has just released initial findings of a report lookin...

A day in the life of a privacy pro, with Ron de Jesus (Lock and Code S05E26)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… Privacy is many things for many people. For the teenager suffering from a bad breakup, privacy is the ability to stop sharing her location and to block her ex on social media. For the political dissident advocating against an oppressive government, privacy ...

Europol takes down criminal data hub Manson Market in busy month for law enforcement

A coordinated action between several European law enforcement agencies shut down an online marketplace called Manson Market that sold stolen data to any interested cybercriminal. What made this market attractive for cybercriminals was that they could buy data sorted by region and account balance...

Malicious QR codes sent in the mail deliver malware

Physical letters that contain a QR code to trick people into downloading malware are being sent through the mail, according to a warning issued by The Swiss National Cyber Security Centre NCSC. The letters are sent as if they come from the official Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and...

Advertisers are pushing ad and pop-up blockers using old tricks

Despite the countermeasures some services are taking against well-known ad blockers, lots of people now use one. This is no doubt due to increased privacy concerns around online tracking, along with the growing number of ads per site. And where there is money to be made, you’ll find social...

Hello again, FakeBat: popular loader returns after months-long hiatus

The web browser, and search engines in particular, continue to be a popular entry point to deliver malware to users. While we noted a decrease in loaders distributed via malvertising for the past 3 months, today's example is a reminder that threat actors can quickly switch back to tried and teste...

Malwarebytes acquires AzireVPN to fuel additional VPN features and functionalities

Today I have great news to share: We've acquired AzireVPN, a privacy-focused VPN provider based in Sweden. I wanted to share with you our intentions behind this exciting step, and what this means for our existing users and the family of solutions they rely on to keep them private and secure...

LinkedIn bots and spear phishers target job seekers

Microsoft's social network for professionals, LinkedIn, is an important platform for job recruiters and seekers alike. It's also a place where criminals go to find new potential victims. Like other social media platforms, LinkedIn is no stranger to bots attracted to special keywords and hashtags...

Comcast and Truist Bank customers impacted by debt collector’s breach

A data breach at Financial Business and Consumer Solutions FBCS, a US debt collection agency, has led to the loss of data of some Comcast Cable Communications and Truist Bank customers. FBCS is in the business of collecting unpaid debts on behalf of its customers. The data breach occurred in...

A week in security (September 30 – October 6)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Facebook and Instagram passwords were stored in plaintext, Meta fined Android users targeted on Facebook and porn sites, served adware Fake Disney+ activation page redirects to pornographic scam Radiology provider exposed tens of thousands of patient files Not Blac...

Malwarebytes Personal Data Remover: A new way to help scrub personal data online

There’s an awful lot about you online that some awful groups want to exploit. The right combination of personal data points could help an identity thief fool a bank into opening a new, fraudulent line of credit in your name. Your alma mater, salary, and email address could help an online scammer...

Tor anonymity compromised by law enforcement. Is it still safe to use?

Despite people generally considering the Tor network as an essential tool for anonymous browsing, german law enforcement agencies have managed to de-anonymize Tor users after putting surveillance on Tor servers for months. Before we go into the what the agencies did, let's take a look at some...

Walmart customers scammed via fake shopping lists, threatened with arrest

Shopping online or attempting to get in touch with a store is a little bit like walking on a minefield: you might get lucky or take a wrong step and get scammed. Case in point, a malicious ad campaign is abusing Walmart Lists, a kind of virtual shopping list customers can share with family and...

Payment provider data breach exposes credit card information of 1.7 million customers

Payment provider Slim CD has disclosed a security incident that may have exposed the full credit card information of anyone paying at a merchant that uses Slim CD’s services. The Florida-based gateway system, which allows merchants to take any kind of electronic payment, said on June 15 it notice...

Your partner “is cheating on you” scam asks you to pay to see proof

As if they weren’t annoying enough already, scammers have recently introduced new pressure tactics to their sextortion and scam emails. Last week we reported how cybercriminals are using photographs of targets homes in order to scare them into paying money. Now theyre throwing in the name of...