Meet the entirely legal, iPhone-crashing device, the Flipper Zero: Lock and Code S04E25

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… It talks, it squawks, it even blocks! The stocking-stuffer on every hobby hacker’s wish list this year is the Flipper Zero. “Talk” across low-frequency radio to surreptitiously change TV channels, emulate garage door openers, or even pop open your friend’s...

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...

A week in security (December 11 – December 17)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: PikaBot distributed via malicious search ads Chrome starts the countdown to the end of tracking cookies Apple to introduce new feature that makes life harder for iPhone thieves Recently-patched Apache Struts vulnerability used in worldwide attacks ALPHV ransomware...

PikaBot distributed via malicious search ads

During this past year, we have seen an increase in the use of malicious ads malvertising and specifically those via search engines, to drop malware targeting businesses. In fact, browser-based attacks overall have been a lot more common if we include social engineering campaigns. Criminals have...

Chrome starts the countdown to the end of tracking cookies

Google has announced that it will start rolling its Chrome web browsers new Tracking Protection feature from January of 2024. Tracking Protection is part of Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative to phase out third-party cookies. The Tracking Protection feature aims to disable third-party cookies...

Apple to introduce new feature that makes life harder for iPhone thieves

Reportedly, Apple has plans to make it harder for iPhone thieves to steal your personal information even if they have your device’s passcode. A new feature called Stolen Device Protection is included in the beta version of iOS 17.3. The feature limits access to your private information in case...

Recently-patched Apache Struts vulnerability used in worldwide attacks

Attackers are exploiting a critical vulnerability in Apache Struts 2 that was patched recently. Struts is a very popular open source platform to develop applications and websites. On December 7, 2023, Apache announced versions 6.3.0.2 and 2.5.33 of Struts were now available to address a potential...

ALPHV ransomware gang returns, sorta

The ALPHV ransomware gang, arguably the second most dangerous "big game" ransomware operator, appears to be back in business after its infrastructure went down for five days. But all does not appear to be going well for group. ALPHVs dark web leak site may be back but it is only showing a single...

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 ...

Ransomware review: December 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 those where the victim did not pay a ransom. This provides the best overall picture of...

Microsoft patches 34 vulnerabilities, including one zero-day

December’s Patch Tuesday is a relatively quiet one on the Microsoft front. Redmond has patched 34 vulnerabilities with only four rated as critical. One vulnerability, a previously disclosed unpatched vulnerability in AMD central processing units CPUs, was shifted by AMD to software developers. Th...

Malvertisers zoom in on cryptocurrencies and initial access

During the past month, we have observed an increase in the number of malicious ads on Google searches for "Zoom", the popular piece of video conferencing software. Threat actors have been alternating between different keywords for software downloads such as "Advanced IP Scanner" or "WinSCP"...

How to choose a free vulnerability scanner: Insights from an industry veteran

The cybersecurity market is awash with expensive, high-end solutions for detecting vulnerabilities in third-party applications. However, for smaller security teams, free vulnerability scanners offer a practical alternative. But of course, free doesn’t always mean better—it’s crucial to thoroughly...

Update now! Apple issues patches for older iPhones and other devices

Apple has issued emergency updates that include patches for older iOS devices concerning the two actively used zero-day vulnerabilities that were patched last week in newer devices. Updates are available for: Safari 17.2| macOS Monterey and macOS Ventura| ---|---|--- iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2|...

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...

The sound of you typing on your keyboard could reveal your password

As if password authentications coffin needed any more nails, researchers in the UK have discovered yet another way to hammer one in. The technique, developed at Durham University, the University of Surrey, and Royal Holloway University of London, builds on previous work to produce a more accurate...

The sound of you typing on your keyboard could reveal your password

As if password authentications coffin needed any more nails, researchers in the UK have discovered yet another way to hammer one in. The technique, developed at Durham University, the University of Surrey, and Royal Holloway University of London, builds on previous work to produce a more accurate...

“Amazon got hacked” messages are a false alarm

Amazon customers have been seeing a message on social media that has caused some alarm. Most of the posts look like one of these depending on the social media platform: “PSA!! Amazon got hacked. For USA based people, check your Amazon account. Hackers added HUB lockers as your default delivery...

Insights into your unpatched vulnerabilities

Every day, nearly 70 brand-new vulnerabilities are discovered in software products around the world. That’s almost 25,550 new problems each year, of which roughly 4,250 or every one-in-six will be classified as “critical.” But with little guidance beyond “critical” classifications—and with the...

A week in security (December 4 – December 10)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Meta’s Purple Llama wants to test safety risks in AI models US government is snooping on people via phone push notifications, says senator Android phones can be taken over remotely – update when you can How IT teams can conduct a vulnerability assessment for...

Meta’s Purple Llama wants to test safety risks in AI models

Meta has announced Purple Llama, a project that aims to "bring together tools and evaluations to help the community build responsibly with open generative AI models." Generative Artificial Intelligence AI models have been around for years and their main function, compared to older AI models is th...

US government is snooping on people via phone push notifications, says senator

Many people don’t realize that the instant alert push notifications you get on your phone are routed through Google or Apples servers, depending on which device you use. So if you have an iPhone or iPad, any push notifications can be seen by Apple, and if you use an Android, they can be seen by...

Android phones can be taken over remotely – update when you can

Android phones are vulnerable to attacks that could allow someone to takeover a device remotely without the device owner needing to do anything. Updates for these vulnerabilities and more are included in Googles Android security bulletin for December. In total, there are patches for 94...

How IT teams can conduct a vulnerability assessment for third-party applications

Google Chrome, Adobe Acrobat Reader, TeamViewer, you name it—there’s no shortage of third-party apps that IT teams need to constantly check for vulnerabilities. But to get a better picture of the problem, lets bust out some napkin math. The average company uses about 200 applications overall...

Windows 10 gets its own extended security updates program

The day that Windows 10 machines will get their last security updates is set for October 14, 2025. So if you want to stay secure, you’d have to upgrade to a newer version. Either to Windows 11, which is not all that different, but more demanding when it comes to system requirements. Or to the...

Adobe Coldfusion vulnerability used in attacks on government servers

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA put out a Cybersecurity Advisory CSA to alert government agencies about cybercriminals using a vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion to gain initial access to servers. Adobe ColdFusion is a platform for building and deploying web and mobile...

Roblox and Twitch provider Tipalti breached by ransomware [updated]

As a response to this post, Tipalti reached out to us and asked us to post the following statement: Tipalti takes the security of our systems and data very seriously and has strong security protocols and tools in place. The Tipalti cybersecurity team and third-party forensic experts have been...

23andMe says, er, actually some genetic and health data might have been accessed in recent breach

In October we reported that the data of as many as seven million 23andMe customers were for sale on criminal forums following a password attack against the genomics company. Now, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission SEC has provided some more insight into the data theft. The...

Why a ransomware gang tattled on its victim, with Allan Liska: Lock and Code S04E24

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… Like the grade-school dweeb who reminds their teacher to assign tonights homework, or the power-tripping homeowner who threatens every neighbor with an HOA citation, the ransomware group ALPHV can now add itself to a shameful roster of pathetic, little...

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...

Social media giants to testify over failing to protect kids

US senators have urgently invited the CEOs of five of the major social media giants to testify about their failure to protect children online. The Senate Judiciary Committee said it will hear from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, X formerly Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Snap CEO...

A week in security (November 27 – December 3)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Explained: Domain fronting Will ChatGPT write ransomware? Yes. Associated Press, ESPN, CBS among top sites serving fake virus alerts Meta sued over forcing users to pay to stop tracking Update now! Chrome fixes actively exploited zero-day vulnerability Many major...

Explained: Domain fronting

Domain fronting is a technique of using different domain names on the same HTTPS connection. Put simply, domain fronting hides your traffic when connecting to a specific website. It routes traffic through a larger platform, masking the true destination in the process. The technique became popular...

Will ChatGPT write ransomware? Yes.

This morning I decided to write some ransomware, and I asked ChatGPT to help. Not because I wanted to turn to a life of crime, but because I wanted to see if anything had changed since March, when I last tried the same exact thing. In short: ChatGPT has helped me, worryingly so. But more on that...

Associated Press, ESPN, CBS among top sites serving fake virus alerts

ScamClub is a threat actor whos been involved in malvertising activities since 2018. Chances are you probably ran into one of their online scams on your mobile device. Confiant, the firm that has tracked ScamClub for years, released a comprehensive report in September while also disrupting their...

Meta sued over forcing users to pay to stop tracking

Meta is required to get users’ consent in Europe in order to show them targeted ads. For this reason, Meta has to provide European users with a way to opt out of behavioral advertising or face fines totalling $100,000 a day. Behavioral advertising are ads tailored to someone’s browsing habits and...

Update now! Chrome fixes actively exploited zero-day vulnerability

Google has released an update to Chrome which includes seven security fixes including one for a vulnerability which is known to have already been exploited. If you’re a Chrome user on Windows, Mac, or Linux, you should update as soon as possible. The easiest way to update Chrome is to set it to...

Many major websites allow users to have weak passwords

A new study that examines the current state of password policies across the internet shows that many of the most popular websites allow users to create weak passwords. For the Georgia Tech study, the researchers designed an algorithm that automatically determined a website’s password policy. With...

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...

ownCloud vulnerability can be used to extract admin passwords

ownCloud has warned users about three critical security flaws in its file-sharing software which, if exploited, could reveal sensitive information and modify files. An especially and potentially impactful one is a vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive credentials and...

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...

Windows Hello fingerprint authentication can be bypassed on popular laptops

Researchers have found several weaknesses in Windows Hello fingerprint authentication on Dell Inspiron 15, Lenovo ThinkPad T14, and Microsoft Surface Pro X laptops. Microsoft’s Offensive Research and Security Engineering MORSE asked the researchers to evaluate the security of the top three...

Citrix Bleed widely exploited, warn government agencies

In a joint cybersecurity advisory, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, along with other international agencies, warn that ransomware gangs are actively exploiting the Citrix Bleed vulnerability. Affiliates of at least two ransomwa...

Chrome pushes forward with plans to limit ad blockers in the future

Google has announced it will shut down Manifest V2 in June 2024 and move on to Manifest V3, the latest version of its Chrome extension specification that has faced criticism for putting limits on ad blockers. Roughly said, Manifest V2 and V3 are the rules that browser extension developers have to...

$19 Stanley cup deal is a Black Friday scam

Scammers never miss an opportunity to make a quick buck, and love to piggy back on the latest trends. So what better way to kick off the scamming season than by offering Black Friday sales on one of the most popular products around: a Stanley cup. We found an ad on Facebook offering a Stanley...

Malwarebytes consumer product roundup: The latest

At Malwarebytes, we’re constantly evolving to protect our customers. These days, our products don’t just protect you from malware, we protect your identity, defend you from ads, safeguard your social media, and keep your mobile safe too. Here are the innovations we’ve made in our products recentl...

Explained: Privacy washing

Question: Who said the sentence below? “Privacy is at the heart of everything we do.” Answer: Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and its largest subsidiary Google. And if you look at the recent actions Google has announced, you’d be tempted to take his word for it: An initiative to let Chrome hid...

Nothing Chats pulled from Google Play

Sometimes it’s all in the name. The Nothing Chats beta has been pulled from the Google Play Store after reports that the company behind it has access to your unencrypted messages. Nothing Phone 2 owners were promised a first-of-its-kind app developed in partnership with Sunbird, which allowed the...

How to stop fake System notifications on macOS

Scammers are abusing an Apple feature that allows websites to create push notifications that look like theyre coming from macOS, or apps. The notifications try to scare users into clicking a link with fake virus alerts or messages saying their account has been hacked. Years ago we warned our...

Why less is more: 10 steps to secure customer data

In an advisory aimed at the protection of customers’ personal data, the Australian Cyber Security Centre ACSC has emphasized that businesses should only collect personal data from customers that they need in order to operate effectively. While that may seem like kicking in an open door, it’s real...