A week in security (March 13 - 19)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: "Brad Pitt," a still body, ketchup, and a knife, or the best trick ever played on a romance scammer, with Becky Holmes: Lock and Code S04E06 Breast cancer photos published by ransomware gang WhatsApp refuses to weaken encryption, would rather leave UK "Just awful"...

Rubrik is latest victim of the Clop ransomware zero-day campaign

Rubrik, a cybersecurity company specializing in cloud data management, has revealed that some of its systems were infiltrated by the Clop ransomware group. Rubrik is one of many companies attacked by Clop via an infamous zero-day vulnerability in the GoAnywhere file transfer software. The attack...

LockBit ransomware attacks Essendant

The LockBit ransomware group is claiming responsibility for taking down a US-based distributor of office products called Essendant. This attack, which is said to have begun on or around March 6, created severe ramifications for the organisation, disrupting freight carrier pickups, online orders,...

Emotet adopts Microsoft OneNote attachments

Last week, Emotet returned after a three month absence when the botnet Epoch 4 started sending out malicious emails with malicious Office macros. While the extracted attachments were inflated to several hundred megabytes, it was surprising to see that Emotet persisted in using the same attack...

Facebook illegally processed user data, says court

The Amsterdam court has ruled that Facebook illegally processed user data in a case started by the Dutch Data Privacy Stichting DPS, a foundation that acts on behalf of victims of privacy violations in the Netherlands. According to the ruling, Facebook used personal data for advertising purposes ...

Hackers threaten to leak STALKER 2 assets if devs don’t heed demands

Ukrainian game developer GSC Game World has announced it was breached by Russian hacktivists who stole assets related to the much-awaited game STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl. A message from GSC Game World team pic.twitter.com/rqRM0tFZmO -- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL @stalkerthegame March 12, 2023...

Ransomware attack hits ANOTHER school

In what is likely Vice Society's handiwork, the UK's largest state boarding school Wymondham College has announced it has become the victim of a "sophisticated cyberattack". The school didn't provide additional information, but Jonathan Taylor, chief of the school's parent company Sapientia...

Update now! Microsoft fixes two zero-day bugs

Microsoft, and other vendors, have released their monthly updates. In total Microsoft has fixed a total of 101 vulnerabilities for several titles including Edge, with two of them being actively exploited zero-days. On top of that, Adobe has fixed an actively exploited vulnerability in ColdFusion...

Clop ransomware is victimizing GoAnywhere MFT customers

According to information gathered by BleepingComputer, the Clop ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the ransomware attacks that are tied to a vulnerability in the Fortra GoAnywhere MFT secure file-sharing solution. As we reported on February 8, Fortra released an emergency patch 7.1.2...

Investment fraud overtakes business email compromise as most reported fraud

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI has published its 2022 Internet Crime Report. One of the most notable points is that investment fraud has now overtaken business email compromise BEC as the most reported and most damaging type of fraud. The numbers are based on the complaints reported to t...

"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...

"Brad Pitt," a still body, ketchup, and a knife, or the best trick ever played on a romance scammer, with Becky Holmes: Lock and Code S04E06

Becky Holmes knows how to throw a romance scammer off script--simply bring up cannibalism. In January, Holmes shared on Twitter that an account with the name "Thomas Smith" had started up a random chat with her that sounded an awful lot like the beginning stages of a romance scam. But rather than...

WhatsApp refuses to weaken encryption, would rather leave UK

WhatsApp will not comply with the UK's Online Safety Bill when it passes legislation as is. In fact, WhatsApp would rather cease serving UK users, which make up 2% of its global market, than weaken its end-to-end encryption E2EE. Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at parent company Meta, made these...

Breast cancer photos published by ransomware gang

The Russia-linked ALPHV ransomware group, also known as BlackCat, has posted sensitive clinical photos of breast cancer patients--calling them "nude photos"--to extort money from the Lehigh Valley Health Network LVHN. This has triggered a chorus of accusations from the cybersecurity community, wi...

A week in security (March 6 - 12)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: 8 cybersecurity tips to keep you safe when travelling National Cybersecurity Strategy Document: What you need to know Intel CPU vulnerabilities fixed. But should you update? Warning issued over Royal ransomware Play ransomware gang leaks City of Oakland data...

Malware targeting SonicWall devices could survive firmware updates

Researchers at Mandiant have identified a malware campaign targeting SonicWall SMA 100 Series appliances, thought to be of Chinese origin. The malware was likely deployed in 2021, and was able to persist on the appliances tenaciously, even surviving firmware upgrades. The malware was able to stea...

TikTok "a loaded gun" says NSA

America's TikTok-addicted youth is playing with a "loaded gun" according to General Paul Nakasone, Director of the National Security Agency NSA. Speaking at a US Senate hearing on Wednesday, the general said "one third of Americans get their news from TikTok", adding "one sixth of American youth...

Update Android now! Two critical vulnerabilities patched

The March security updates for Android include fixes for two critical remote code execution RCE vulnerabilities impacting Android systems running versions 11, 12, 12L, and 13. Users should update as soon as they can. The March 2023 Android Security Bulletin contains the details of the security...

Ransomware review: March 2023

This article is based on research by Marcelo Rivero, Malwarebytes' ransomware specialist, who builds a monthly picture of ransomware activity by monitoring the information published by ransomware gangs on their Dark Web leak sites. This information represents victims who were successfully attacke...

DeepStreamer: Illegal movie streaming platforms hide lucrative ad fraud operation

This investigation was a joint effort between Malwarebytes Threat Intelligence's Jerome Segura, DeepSee's Rocky Moss and Antonio Torres. Key findings Over a dozen unique domains were found selling ad inventory through Google Ad Manager, even though the pages were embedded invisibly under the...

DoppelPaymer ransomware group disrupted

Europol has announced it has arrested two suspected core members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware group. On 28 February, the German Regional Police and the Ukrainian National Police, with support from Europol, the Dutch Police, and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations FBI, apprehended...

Play ransomware gang leaks City of Oakland data

The Play ransomware gang has begun partially publishing data they stole from the City of Oakland, California. The data were in multiple archive files with a collective file size of 10GB. According to the ransomware gang, the files contain "private and personal information data, financial...

Warning issued over Royal ransomware

As part of its StopRansomware effort, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has published a Cybersecurity Advisory CSA about Royal ransomware. Royal ransomware is a Ransomware-as-a-service Raas that first made an appearance in January 2022. In September of that year, it began...

Intel CPU vulnerabilities fixed. But should you update?

Microsoft has released out of band updates for information disclosure vulnerabilities in Intel CPUs. The normal gut reaction would be to install out of band updates as soon as possible. Microsoft wouldnt be releasing the updates ahead of the regular cycle without good reason, would it? Well, mayb...

National Cybersecurity Strategy Document: What you need to know

The US Government has been working on the National Cybersecurity Strategy Document 2023 for some time now, and its finally been released. The strategy document, which replaces the last such piece of work from 2018, attempts to indicate the general direction of the US approach to cybercrime and...

8 cybersecurity tips to keep you safe when travelling

The best way to keep your devices safe when you're travelling is to be unplugged. If you don't need it, don't take it with you. But since that is not always an option, here are some tips to keep you safe while you travel. 1. Backup before you go The consequences of losing your device or having it...

A week in security (February 27 - March 5)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Fighting online censorship, or, encryption's latest surprise use-case, with Mallory Knodel: Lock and Code S04E05 How to work from home securely, the NSA way TikTok probed over child privacy practices iPhone users targeted in phone AND data theft campaign US Marshal...

LockBit ransomware demands $2 million for Pierce Transit data

The Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation Pierce Transit has fallen victim to a cyberattack using LockBit ransomware. Pierce Transit is a public transit operator in Washington state. The attack began on February 14, 2023, and required Pierce Transit to implement temporary...

YouTube under fire for allegedly gathering children's data

The UKs childrens code, introduced three years ago by the Information Commissioner's Office ICO, is all about ensuring that companies make childrens privacy a primary consideration when creating sites and services, games, and toys. The code, also known as the Age Appropriate Design Code AADC, may...

Internet Explorer users still targeted by RIG exploit kit

Despite a very slim browser market share, Internet Explorer IE is still being exploited by exploit kits like the RIG exploit kit EK. One major advantage for the malware distributors behind the exploit kit is that the outdated browser has reached end-of-life EOL, which means it no longer receives...

Ransomware led to multiple DISH Network outages

Satellite broadcast organisation DISH experienced a major system issue over the past week which affected multiple services. Websites and channels were unavailable, logins were non-functional, and some folks couldnt even pay their bills as a result of the downtime. There was a suspicion that...

AI voice cracks telephone banking voice recognition

Voice ID is slowly rolling out across various banks worldwide as a way to perform user authentication over the phone. However, questions remain about just how secure it is. Now that we have freely available artificial intelligence AI happily replicating peoples voices, could it be a security risk...

Crushing the two biggest threats to mobile endpoint security in 2023

Dont let their small size fool you: mobile devices can have a big impact on your security posture. Its easy to see why, considering that almost half of organizations said they suffered a mobile-related compromise in 2022. Malware and phishing are two particular mobile threats that you need to...

LastPass was undone by an attack on a remote employee

Last August, LastPass suffered a well publicised breach: Developer systems were compromised and source code stolen. This resulted in a second breach in November, which was revealed by LastPass in December. The company has now revealed that the individuals responsible for the attack also compromis...

US Marshals Service hit by ransomware and data breach

The US Marshals Service USMS says it's suffered a ransomware attack in which a threat actor managed to get hold of sensitive information about staff and fugitives. On February 17, 2023, the attacker infiltrated a system that held information about ongoing investigations, including personally...

iPhone users targeted in phone AND data theft campaign

When is an iPhone theft not just an iPhone theft? When the user's Apple ID and more, goes with it. That's what the Wall Street Journal reports has been happening over recent months. The paper interviewed a handful of people who fell victim to old-school phone theft while out in a bar. But it wasn...

How to work from home securely, the NSA way

People working remotely is no longer unusual, so the National Security Agency NSA has produced a short Best Practices PDF document detailing how remote workers can keep themselves safe from harm. In fact, the guide can also be applied to people using computers at home generally and is written in ...

Fighting online censorship, or, encryption's latest surprise use-case, with Mallory Knodel: Lock and Code S04E05

Government threats to end-to-end encryption--the technology that secures your messages and shared photos and videos--have been around for decades, but the most recent threats to this technology are unique in how they intersect with a broader, sometimes-global effort to control information on the...

TikTok probed over child privacy practices

The privacy protection authorities for Canada, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta have announced they will start an investigation into TikTok's privacy practices, especially in relation to its younger users. The investigation will include whether the company obtained valid and meaningful conse...

A week in security (February 20 - 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: GoAnywhere zero-day opened door to Clop ransomware Chip company loses $250m after ransomware hits supply chain GoDaddy says it's a victim of multi-year cyberattack campaign Twitter and two-factor authentication: What's changing? How to set up two-factor...

Arrested: Fearmongering data thieves who victimized thousands of businesses

The Dutch police have announced the arrest of three more suspects in one of the biggest data extortion cases to date. The men, all aged between 18 and 21, were allegedly involved in extorting businesses and selling stolen data to other criminals. During a two-year investigation the police learned...

Fake Amazon Prime email abuses LinkedIn's URL shortener

Over the last few days, scammers have been sending out phishing mails that disguise bogus URLs with something called Slinks--shortened Linkedin URLs. The shortened URLs redirect users to a different URL when they are clicked. If youve ever seen a Tiny URL, or a Bit.ly link, youll already be...

Malwarebytes wins 2023 CRN 'Coolest Endpoint And Managed Security Companies' award

CRN, a trusted source for IT channel news and analysis, has named Malwarebytes one of the "Coolest Endpoint And Managed Security Companies" on the 2023 CRN Security 100 list. The CRN Security 100 highlights channel-friendly cybersecurity vendors across a number of market segments including Endpoi...

Royal Mail schools LockBit in leaked negotiation

The LockBit group has finally given up any prospect of extracting a ransom from Royal Mail and published the files it stole from the company in a recent ransomware attack. The leak brings weeks of negotiations to a close, leaving Royal Mail without a decryptor, and LockBit without a payday...

BlackCat ransomware targets another healthcare facility

In a statement issued Monday morning, Lehigh Valley Health Network said it had been the target of a cyberattack attributed to a ransomware gang known as BlackCat. The Network is made up of 13 hospital campuses, as well as other health facilities, and is based in Pennsylvania. BlackCat The...

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...

Samsung adds Message Guard protection against zero-click exploits

Samsung has announced the introduction of Message Guard for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. It will be gradually rolled out to other Galaxy smartphones and tablets later this year. Message Guard works on images received in messages by the apps "Samsung Messages" and "Messages by Google" and...

The 5 most dangerous cyberthreats facing businesses this year

Which of the myriad, extant cyberthreats should your business be paying the most attention to in 2023? Thats the question we set out to answer in this years annual State of Malware report, and the answers might surprise you. To understand why, you need to know what makes this years report so...

HardBit ransomware tailors ransom to fit your cyber insurance payout

Ransomware authors are wading into the cybersecurity insurance debate in a somewhat peculiar way. Specifically: urging victims to disclose details of their insurance contract, in order to tailor a ransom which will be beneficial to the company under attack. HardBit 2.0: dismantling a device piece...

Multilingual skimmer fingerprints 'secret shoppers' via Cloudflare endpoint API

One important aspect of data theft in criminal markets revolves around the authenticity of the data that is being resold. There are different services that exist to vet such things as credit card numbers so that buyers can purchase with confidence. Criminals are also very aware that anyone and in...