Tile trackers plagued by weak security, researchers warn

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology scrutinized the security of the popular Tile tracker and came out disappointed. Bluetooth trackers are a steadily growing market, and Life360 is one of the major players. In 2021, Amazon expanded its Sidewalk network to include Tile. That means...

Travelers to the UK targeted in ETA scams

Since January 8, 2025, travelers from most countries, including the US, Australia, and Canada have to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation ETA for visa free travel to the UK. You can apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation using the ETA App, or via an online form. When you apply for ...

Developer verification: a promised lift for Android security

To reduce the number of harmful apps targeting Android users, Google has announced that certified Android devices will require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed. But this new measure is not just about malware that's found on the Google Play Store, it’s main...

AI browsers could leave users penniless: A prompt injection warning

Artificial Intelligence AI browsers are gaining traction, which means we may need to start worrying about the potential dangers of something called "prompt injection." Large language models LLMs—like the ones that power AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—are designed to follow...

“The worst thing” for online rights: An age-restricted grey web (Lock and Code S06E16)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … The internet is cracking apart. It’s exactly what some politicians want. In June, a Texas law that requires age verification on certain websites withstood a legal challenge brought all the way to the US Supreme Court. It could be a blueprint for how the...

Dating app scammer cons former US army colonel into leaking national secrets

Even hard-headed military types can fall victim to romance scams, it seems. A former US army colonel faces up to ten years in prison after revealing national secrets on a foreign dating app. David Slater was a retired colonel in the US army who took up work as a civilian at US Strategic Command,...

WhatsApp to start targeting you with ads

WhatsApp has announced that it will start to show you targeted ads on the app. The ads, it says, will appear under the Updates tab. WhatsApp launched the Updates tab a year ago, and now 1.5 billion people visit it every day. Updates has historically been a place for users to follow news and updat...

Man accused of using keylogger to spy on colleagues, log in to their personal accounts and watch them at home

When you next type something sensitive on your computer keyboard, be sure that no-one else is watching. A recent case of alleged cyber-voyeurism shows how important it is to secure your computer against unwanted eavesdroppers using malwareware. In a class action lawsuit, six women have accused...

X users report login troubles as Dark Storm claims cyberattack

In the early morning hours of March 10, thousands of users on X formerly Twitter began having trouble logging into the platform. It was only the first service blip of at least three to come that same day and, if one cybercriminal group is to be believed, it was all on purpose. “Twitter has been...

Medical testing company LifeLabs failed to protect customer data, report finds

In 2019, a ransomware attack hit LifeLabs, a Canadian medical testing company. The ransomware encrypted the lab results of 15 million Canadians, and personally identifiable information PII of 8.6 million people was stolen. After noticing the attack, LifeLabs informed its customers and the Canadia...

AI is everywhere, and Boomers don’t trust it

Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Meta AI represent a stronger threat to data privacy than the social media juggernauts that cemented themselves in the past two decades, according to new research on the sentiments of older individuals from Malwarebytes. A...

Large eBay malvertising campaign leads to scams

Tech support scammers are targeting eBay customers in the U.S. via fraudulent Google ads. In a few separate searches, we were able to identify multiple Sponsored results that were created from at least four different advertiser accounts. While most of those ads clearly looked fake, they appeared...

8 security tips for small businesses

Small businesses and startups are known to face some extra challenges when it comes to cybersecurity. Because they don’t have the size or budget to have a fully-fledged dedicated security team, it often comes down to one person that doesn’t have the time to do everything that is recommended or ev...

Not Black Mirror: Meta’s smart glasses used to reveal someone’s identity just by looking at them

Like something out of Black Mirror, two students have demonstrated a way to use smart glasses and facial recognition technology to immediately reveal people’s names, phone numbers, and addresses. The Harvard students have dubbed the system I-XRAY and it works like this: When you look at someone’s...

Romance scams costlier than ever: 10 percent of victims lose $10,000 or more

Romance scams continue to plague users, but their costs have risen to staggering heights, according to a Malwarebytes survey carried out last month via our weekly newsletter. More than 66 percent of 850 respondents have been targeted by a romance scam, and those that were ensnared paid a hefty...

Hacked GPS tracker reveals location data of customers

Stalkerware researcher maia arson crimew strikes again. Big time. We know maia as a researcher that loves to go after stalkerware peddlers, which Malwarebytes—as one of the founding members of the Coalition Against Stalkerware—loves to see. This time the target company, Tracki, is one selling GPS...

DNA testing company fined after customer data theft

DNA Diagnostics Center DDC, an Ohio-based private DNA testing company, last week reached a settlement deal with the Ohio and Pennsylvania state attorneys general in relation to a 2021 breach that saw the theft of 45,000 residents' personal details. Overall the attack compromised over 2.1 million...

Google sues "harassing and deceptive" impersonator

After receiving many complaints, Google has announced it has filed a lawsuit against a company that has made it its business to impersonate Google. The company going by the name of "G Verifier" deployed telemarketing and website tactics that were intended to persuade people they were doing busine...

Hackers steal protective order and foster care records from Arizona courts

“Arizona’s court system was targeted by a cyber attack from criminal hackers or their bots.” This is how the Arizona Supreme Court announced that hackers had attacked the state’s court system and stolen the personal information of “many Arizonans.” The court says the attack began with a phishing...

The AI plot to scan and destroy books (Lock and Code S07E19)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… If you want AI to tell you a story, it will. If you want that story to sound like one of your favorite authors, it can. And if you’re one of the authors that AI can imitate, you might be a little upset at what feels like theft. In 2024, the authors Andrea...

The fake sites using a cheap toolkit to sell $2,000 AI subscriptions

We found more than 100 subscription websites linked through the same toolkit and closely related developer details. Some impersonate existing products, including GPT-6 Astra, DaVinci Resolve, PixAI, and OpenCut. Another uses the name of Omegle, the chat service that shut down in 2023. Others...

How to opt out of AI chatbot training

The tech journalists at 404 Media learned that OpenAI is hiring hundreds of contractors to read and review a massive stream of real users’ ChatGPT prompts and responses. “Project Lily” is reportedly a program that asks contractors to score or critique ChatGPT's answers to improve the chatbot's...

HBO Max’s verified Reddit account hijacked to spread malware

Researchers at Hudson Rock found that cybercriminals hijacked HBO Max’s verified Reddit account and used it to run 108 malicious ads over roughly 48 hours. The ads used HBO Max's trusted corporate account to promote fake AI tools, developer software, and macOS utilities, lowering potential victim...

Protect your WhatsApp account with new passkey and 2FA upgrades

WhatsApp announced on August 25 that more than one billion people now use passkeys to log back into the app. The announcement included two other security upgrades: a stronger two-step verification method and more context for incoming calls from unknown numbers. It marks one of the largest...

Android malware steals your card details and PIN to make instant ATM withdrawals

The Polish Computer Emergency Response Team CERT Polska analyzed a new Android-based malware that uses NFC technology to perform unauthorized ATM cash withdrawals and drain victims' bank accounts. Researchers found that the malware, called NGate, lets attackers withdraw cash from ATMs Automated...

No we didn’t warn all Gmail users about imminent digital doom, says Google

Cybersecurity publications are rife with headlines about breaches and threats, but sometimes things aren't always what they seem. In fact sometimes they're plain wrong remember toothbrushgate? This week, Google highlighted another story that it said was fake - and this one was about its own...

Digital rampage saw ex-Disney employee remove nut allergy info from menus, dox co-workers, and more

A former Disney employee, Michael Scheuer, will serve three years in prison for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft after a digital sabotage campaign against his ex-employer. In addition to his sentence, he must pay nearly US$688,000 in restitution. Scheuer, a former menu production...

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Avery had credit card skimmer stuck on its site for months

The consequences of a wave of credit card skimmers—which is normal around the holidays—are starting to show. Label maker Avery has filed a data breach notification, saying 61,193 people may have had their credit card details stolen. On December 9, Avery said it became aware of an attack on its...

This industry profits from knowing you have cancer, explains Cody Venzke (Lock and Code S05E22)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … On the internet, you can be shown an online ad because of your age, your address, your purchase history, your politics, your religion, and even your likelihood of having cancer. This is because of the largely unchecked “data broker” industry. Data brokers...

PSA: These ‘Microsoft Support’ ploys may just fool you

Many people turn to their favorite search engine when they are facing an issue with their computer. One common search query is to look for the telephone number or contact form for Microsoft, Apple or one of many other brands. Scammers have long been interested in pretending to be Microsoft...

A week in security (August 5 – August 11)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Security company ADT announces security breach of customer data Stolen data from scraping service National Public Data leaked online Android vulnerability used in targeted attacks patched by Google Men report more pressure and threats to share location and accounts...

Google delays Chrome third party cookie sunsetting...again

We've seen many examples of third-party cookies being tackled by browsers recently. It's 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...

ASOS “hackers” send push notifications to customers

Thousands of global fashion retailer ASOS customers have received a push notification through the ASOS app this morning alleging that the company has been hacked. The notification, addressed to ASOS’s data protection officer and IT, says: “ASOS HACKED Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromis...

Facebook Marketplace scam uses your name and number

Facebook users are reporting receiving a message with a fake Facebook Marketplace listing that has their name as the seller. It works like this. You receive a message in this case iMessage asking “Is this still available for purchase?” Attached to the message is a fabricated Facebook Marketplace...

Domino’s customers targeted in credential stuffing attacks

Domino’s Pizza customers tell us they have received emails saying they account has been accessed by a third party. Domino’s says its internal systems weren’t breached, but that individual accounts were logged into using a password and email combination stolen from another online account owned by...

Convincing Free Mobile phishing emails appear after data breach

Free Mobile, one of France’s main cellular providers, was fined €27 million by France’s data protection regulator, the CNIL, in January over failures to protect customer data. The October 2024 breach allowed an unauthorized party to access sensitive customer records, including bank account detail...

Humans are reviewing Copilot users’ bizarre and abusive image-editing requests

A reminder for anyone who thinks their AI chats are private: A human may see what they upload. A report from 404 Media this week describes contractors reviewing Copilot users’ photos, editing requests, and the images Copilot produces. Some of what they see is disturbing. The third-party companies...

ShinyHunters hacks rival extortion gang and takes over its dark web site

Reportedly, the ShinyHunters extortion group breached the leak site of one of its competitors, the Clop ransomware gang. ShinyHunters is a financially motivated cybercrime and extortion group active since 2019. It is known for stealing large volumes of data and pressuring victims to pay, rather...

Hackers commit highway robbery, stealing cargo and goods

There’s a modern-day train heist happening across America, and this time, some of the bandana-masked robbers are sitting behind screens. According to new research, a group of cybercriminals has been attacking trucking, freight, and logistics companies for months, impersonating brands and even...

“Can you test my game?” Fake itch.io pages spread hidden malware to gamers

You get a message from a Discord friend. Or maybe an unknown indie developer reaches out to you. “Can you test my game?” they ask. The webpage they send over a link to looks legit: screenshots, dev blurb, itch.io-style layout, and the download button is right there, waiting to be clicked. The...

Popular Android VPN apps found to have security flaws and China links

People use VPNs for different security and privacy reasons, to access content anonymously, or to bypass content controls and age verification by pretending to be in different places. But not all VPNs are created equal. A recent report has revealed that many of them might allow others to sniff you...

PayPal users targeted in account profile scam

A co-worker forwarded this rather convincing PayPal scam to me. Thanks Elena. A highly sophisticated email scam is targeting PayPal users with the subject line of "Set up your account profile." We decided to see what the scammers are after. First thing to do is to look at the headers: The sender...

Alleged ‘tap-in’ scammer advertised services on social media

Would you give a complete stranger your credit card in return for the promise of easy money? No, neither would we. But apparently well over a hundred people did. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested 24 year-old Janetcilize Martinez in Tampa, FL, for allegedly using willing participants'...

Apple ID scam leads to $27,000 in-person theft of Ohio man

You've probably heard about people scamming from halfway around the world, but sometimes they turn up at your door. That's what happened in May, when 67 year-old Robert Wise of Ohio received a text telling him that his Apple ID had been compromised. It had been used at an Apple store for a $213...

AI-generated image watermarks can be easily removed, say researchers

Now that AI can make fake images that look real, how can we know what's legitimate and what isn't? One of the primary ways has been the use of defensive watermarking, which means embedding invisible markers in AI-generated images to show they were made up. Now, researchers have broken that...

The new rules for AI and encrypted messaging, with Mallory Knodel (Lock and Code S06E01)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … The era of artificial intelligence everything is here, and with it, come everyday surprises into exactly where the next AI tools might pop up. There are major corporations pushing customer support functions onto AI chatbots, Big Tech platforms offering AI...

A week in security (July 15 – July 21)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: CrowdStrike update at center of Windows "Blue Screen of Death" outage Number of data breach victims goes up 1,000% Gen Z breakups tainted by login abuse for spying and stalking, research shows Rite Aid says 2.2 million people affected in data breach AI device Rabbi...

Meta’s Muse AI files away your friendships, arguments, and secrets

If you thought that having companies trawling your social media, browsing history, and TV habits for behavioral clues was bad, sit tight. Meta is just getting started. Its Muse personal AI agent is taking surveillance to the next level. TIME magazine analyzed the software’s internal instructions...

Google issues Android security updates: who can get them and how

Google has published security fixes for Android. The October updates are available for Android operating system versions 14, 15, 16, 16-qpr2, and 17 where “qpr” stands for Quarterly Platform Release. QPRs are interim updates Google pushes out between major yearly cycles. These Android security...