Xiaomi Phone Bug Allowed Payment Forgery

Smartphone maker Xiaomi, the world’s number three phone maker behind Apple and Samsung, reported it has patched a high-severity flaw in its “trusted environment” used to store payment data that opened some of its handsets to attack. Researchers at Check Point Research revealed last week in a repo...

Podcast: Inside the Hackers’ Toolkit

There is no question that companies are in the sights of would-be criminals looking to exploit them. While companies look at solutions and training to help keep the perimeter secure, the biggest fail point is often the employees, AKA the human element. In this Threatpost podcast, sponsored by...

Elusive ToddyCat APT Targets Microsoft Exchange Servers

An advanced persistent threat APT group, dubbed ToddyCat, is believed behind a series of attacks targeting Microsoft Exchange servers of high-profile government and military installations in Asia and Europe. The campaigns, according to researchers, began in December 2020, and have been largely...

Windows 10 Drive-By RCE Triggered by Default URI Handler

Researchers have discovered a drive-by remote code-execution RCE bug in Windows 10 via Internet Explorer 11/Edge Legacy – the EdgeHTML-based browser that’s currently the default browser on Windows 10 PCs – and Microsoft Teams. According to a report posted Tuesday by Positive Security, the...

Google Chrome is Abused to Deliver Malware as Legit Windows 10 App

Crooks behind a newly identified malware campaign are targeting Windows 10 with malware that can infect systems via a technique that cleverly bypasses Windows cybersecurity protections called User Account Control UAC. Researchers from Rapid7 recently identified the campaign and warn the goal of t...

Twitter Suspends Accounts Used to Snare Security Researchers

Twitter has shuttered two accounts – @lagal1990 and @shiftrows13 – specifically used to trick security researchers into downloading malware in a long-running cyber-espionage campaign attributed to North Korea. The campaign was first discovered by the Google Threat Analysis Group TAG in January an...

Leaked NSO Group Data Hints at Widespread Pegasus Spyware Infections

Israeli-based NSO Group is being blasted in a groundbreaking report that alleges that the company’s controversial Pegasus malware is being used to target activists, journalists, business executives and politicians on a widespread level, using a variety of exploits — including a zero-click zero-da...

Microsoft: Big Cryptomining Attacks Hit Kubeflow

Microsoft has spotted a new, widespread, ongoing attack targeting Kubernetes clusters running Kubeflow instances, in order to plant malicious TensorFlow pods that are used to mine for cryptocurrency. The Kubeflow open-source project is a popular framework for running machine learning ML tasks in...

Podcast: The State of Ransomware

Last month, ransomware group DarkSide targeted operator Colonial Pipeline Co., disrupting fuel supply in the Eastern part of the U.S. The attack on a major U.S. oil pipeline had widespread ripples: it prompted President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency and caused substantial pain at gas...

Scripps Cyberattack Causes Widespread Hospital Outages

Scripps Health, a hospital network based in San Diego, was hit by a cyberattack over the weekend, forcing some critical-care patients to be diverted, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Scripps acknowledged the attack in a statement but didn’t specify whether it was a ransomware incident...

Zoom Screen-Sharing Glitch ‘Briefly’ Leaks Sensitive Data

A security blip in the current version of Zoom could inadvertently leak users’ data to other meeting participants on a call. However, the data is only leaked briefly, making a potential attack difficult to carry out. The flaw CVE-2021-28133 stems from a glitch in the screen sharing function of...

Crypto Crook Hired Steven Seagal to Promote Scam, Now Faces Charges

Hundreds of investors in a fake cryptocurrency scam were bilked out of $11 million by John DeMarr, who advised them to invest in fake cryptocurrency “Bitcoiin,” took their money and spent it on a Porsche, jewelry and upgrades to his home, a criminal complaint from the Department of Justice allege...

CES 2021 Gadgets: Worst in Privacy and Security Awards

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show was hampered by the pandemic, but that didn’t stop an expert panel from convening to award this year’s dubious CES 2021 Worst in Show honors in the context of gadget privacy and security. Overall trends from the week included ever-connected devices constantly...

Inbox Attacks: The Miserable Year (2020) That Was

Purging your inbox has become a year-end tradition for many. A short hiatus for the holidays often provides a quiet moment to flush the previous year’s mountain of spam. And, from the looks of our 2020 inbox, years of herculean efforts to harden email defenses have fallen short. The most-targeted...

Gitpaste-12 Worm Widens Set of Exploits in New Attacks

The Gitpaste-12 worm has returned in new attacks targeting web applications, IP cameras and routers, this time with an expanded set of exploits for initially compromising devices. First discovered in a round of late-October attacks that targeted Linux-based servers and internet-of-things IoT...

Firefox 81 Release Kills High-Severity Code-Execution Bugs

Mozilla patched high-severity vulnerabilities with the release of Firefox 81 and Firefox ESR 78.3, including several that could be exploited to run arbitrary code. Two severe bugs CVE-2020-15674 and CVE-2020-15673 are errors in the browser’s memory-safety protections, which prevent memory access...

TikTok Surreptitiously Collected Android User Data Using Google-Prohibited Tactic

TikTok has been collecting unique identifiers from millions of Android devices without their users’ knowledge using a tactic previously prohibited by Google because it violated people’s privacy, new research has found. Click to register! The app concealed the practice, which can track users onlin...

Black Hat 2020: Linux Spyware Stack Ties Together 5 Chinese APTs

A stack of Linux backdoor malware used for espionage, compiled dynamically and customizable to specific targets, is being used as a shared resource by five different Chinese-language APT groups, according to researchers. According to an analysis from BlackBerry released at Black Hat 2020 on...

Anti-NATO Disinformation Campaign Leveraged CMS Compromises

Researchers have uncovered a widespread influence campaign that aims to discredit the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO, an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 North American and European countries. According to new research from FireEye, the campaign has been ongoing since at...

New Bill Targeting ‘Warrant-Proof’ Encryption Draws Ire

Privacy advocates are decrying a new bill, which would force tech companies to unlock encrypted devices if ordered to do so by law enforcement with a court issued warrant. The Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act was introduced on Tuesday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham R-SC,...

LinkedIn 'Job Offers' Targeted Aerospace, Military Firms With Malware

Attackers are impersonating human resource employees from Collins Aerospace and General Dynamics in a spear-phishing campaign leveraging LinkedIn’s messaging service. Targets are sent phony job offers that include malicious documents designed to fetch data-exfiltrating malware. The spear-phishing...

Google Android RCE Bug Allows Attacker Full Device Access

Google has patched a vulnerability in its Android OS that could allow attackers to completely take over someone’s device to install programs, steal or change data, or create new accounts with full privileges. The flaw CVE-2020-0103 was one of 39 vulnerabilities affecting Android OS builds that us...

Safe Remote Access to Critical Infrastructure Networks in a Time of Global Crisis

With governments closing down workplaces all over the world, telecommuting presents not just online administrative and capacity challenges for organizations, but also security challenges. As highlighted in a recent article by Andy Greenberg from Wired, when more and more employees are asked to VP...

44M Digital Wallet Items Exposed in Key Ring Cloud Misconfig

Key Ring, creator of a digital wallet app used by 14 million people across North America, has exposed 44 million IDs, charge cards, loyalty cards, gift cards and membership cards to the open internet, researchers say. The Key Ring app allows users to upload scans and photos of various physical...

Researchers Warn of Novel PXJ Ransomware Strain

Researchers have discovered a new strain of ransomware, dubbed “PXJ,” which emerged in the wild in early 2020. While PXJ performs functions similar to other ransomware variants, it does not appear to share the same underlying code with most known ransomware families, researchers said. They first...

New Bill Proposes NSA Surveillance Reforms

A newly-introduced bill is proposing sweeping privacy reforms to a controversial government surveillance program, which has been previously used by the National Security Agency NSA to vacuum up the call records of millions of Americans. The “Safeguarding Americans’ Private Records Act” was...

Drake Lyrics Used as Calling Card in Malware Attack

A hacker with the handle “Master X” leverages a PowerShell script that contains a reference to singer-songwriter Drake lyric’s “Kiki Do You Love Me” and ultimately delivers a malicious payload to its victims. The campaign is email based; with missives containing a malicious PowerPoint attachment...

Nebraska Medicine Breached By Rogue Employee

Hospital network Nebraska Medicine has disclosed a data breach after a former employee accessed sensitive patient data – including medical records and Social Security numbers. The Nebraska Medicine network encompasses Nebraska’s largest hospital, Nebraska Medical Center, as well as other location...

Malware Loader ‘Brushaloader’ Grows More Menacing

The tenacious loader malware called Brushaloader is growing more menacing, showing no signs of abatement despite best efforts by security professionals. First identified in June 2018, the Brushaloader malware is now more pervasive, stealthy and growing in popularity faster than ever before. New...

RSAC 2019: Malicious Emailed URLs See Triple-Digit Increase

SAN FRANCISCO: Business emails laced with malicious URLs in the message body have spiked by more than 125 percent in Q4 2018 in comparison with the quarter before. According to Mimecast’s latest Email Security Risk Assessment ESRA report, released at the RSA Conference 2019 in San Francisco this...

GitHub Increases Rewards, Scope For Bug Bounty Program

GitHub has bolstered its bug-bounty program with increased rewards, an expanded scope of products and the addition of legal “safe-harbor” terms aiming to protect bounty hunters. The web-based hosting service announced Tuesday that its program, first launched in 2014, will no longer have a maximum...

Double-Stuffed: Dunkin’ Hit by Another Credential-Stuffing Attack

Dunkin’ Donuts may have just launched its first double-filled doughnut, but another doubling up is not quite as tasty. The chain has suffered its second credential-stuffing attack in three months. Like the first incident, the attack targeted pastry aficionados that have DD Perks accounts, which i...

Rubella Crimeware Kit: Cheap, Easy and Gaining Traction

A crimeware kit dubbed the Rubella Macro Builder is betting on a “dirty deeds done dirt cheap” approach to gain popularity in the criminal underground. The kit does two things: with a point-and-click builder functionality, it generates an initial malware payload for social-engineering spam...

Samba Patches Critical Bug Exploitable With One Line Of Code

A patch for a critical vulnerability impacting the free networking software Samba was issued Wednesday. The flaw poses a severe threat to users, with approximately 104,000 Samba installations vulnerable to remote takeover. More troubling, experts say, the vulnerability can be exploited with just...

Exploit Kit Activity Quiets, But is Far From Silent

Over the past six months, the roar of exploit kits has quieted to a whimper. But that doesn’t mean exploit kit threats are nonexistent. According to security experts, gangs behind them are regrouping, tweaking code and finding fresh software exploits to target. Here are the exploit kits and explo...

Code Execution Vulnerability Found in Libpurple IM Library

A severe vulnerability has been disclosed in libpurple, the library used in the development of a number of popular instant messaging clients, including Pidgin and Adium for the macOS platform. Adium 1.5.10.2 is vulnerable and can be exploited to run arbitrary code remotely. A researcher who goes ...

38 Android Devices Infected with Malware Preinstalled in Supply Chain

Mobile devices manufactured by a diverse set of handset makers were discovered to be loaded with malware pre-installed somewhere along the supply chain. Check Point Software Technologies said that it found 38 Android handsets were infected with adware, information-stealing malware and ransomware,...

CryptXXX Jumps From Angler to Neutrino Exploit Kit

Crooks behind the revamped CryptXXX 3.100 ransomware have switched its distribution from the Angler Exploit Kit to the Neutrino Exploit Kit. The sudden change in distribution was spotted on Monday by researchers at the SANS Internet Storm Center. “This is not the first time we’ve seen campaigns...

FTC, Experts Push Startups to Think About Security From the Beginning

About a decade ago, many large software makers learned some very difficult lessons about software security and building security into their products from the start. Some are still learning. The FTC and a variety of security experts are hoping that today’s crop of start-ups will not have to go...

Adobe LiveCycle Data Services Hotfix

Adobe is today expected to push a hotfix through to implementations of its LiveCycle Data Services application framework. The company said the vulnerability, CVE-2015-3269, affects versions 4.7, 4.6.2, 4.5 and 3.0.x on Windows, Macintosh and UNIX systems. Adobe is not aware of public exploits of...

May 2015 Microsoft Patch Tuesday Security Bulletins

Patch Tuesday as we know it may be on its last legs, but it’s certainly not going quietly. A little more than a week after Microsoft announced how it would revamp patch distribution and security updates starting with Windows 10, the company today released its scheduled round of bulletins—13 in al...

Energy Watering Hole Attack Used LightsOut Exploit Kit

A recent watering-hole attack targeted firms in the energy sector using a compromised site belonging to a law firm that works with energy companies and led victims to a separate site that used the LightsOut exploit kit to compromise their machines. The attack, which was active during late Februar...

Watering Hole Attack Hits US Department of Labor Website

The United States Department of Labor website is the latest high-profile government site to fall victim to a watering hole attack. Researchers at a number of security companies reported today that the site was hosting malware and redirecting visitors to a site hosting the Poison Ivy remote access...

Oracle Patch Update to Include 109 Patches

Buckle up Oracle administrators for 109 patches coming your way tomorrow. Oracle’s quarterly Critical Patch Update is due, and the company is releasing fixes for security vulnerabilities across most of its enterprise products, addressing a host of remotely exploitable flaws. This comes a little...

The Tale of One Thousand and One DSL Modems

This is the description of an attack happening in Brazil since 2011 using 1 firmware vulnerability, 2 malicious scripts and 40 malicious DNS servers, which affected 6 hardware manufacturers, resulting in millions of Brazilian internet users falling victim to a sustained and silent mass attack on...

Researcher Charlie Miller Joins Twitter Security Team

Twitter quietly is assembling a serious security team, with the most recent addition being Charlie Miller, the security researcher known for finding a long line of bugs in the iPhone and other Apple products. Miller, a respected and prolific researcher, will join the social network’s security tea...

From Three Nations and Three Different Perspectives, Blue Hat Finalists Focus on Defense

By Rob Lemos LAS VEGAS — If Jared DeMott hadn’t been eager to take a different path, he would never be in security, much less a finalist in Microsoft’s search for defensive technologies, known as the Blue Hat Prize.Raised in a manufacturing town, he was accepted to the Air Force Academy in 1996,...

IoT Botnets Fuel DDoS Attacks – Are You Prepared?

While data breaches and ransomware are still considered among the more significant concern for businesses, the threats sometimes come from a direction we weren’t expecting. Cybercriminals use botnets for various malicious purposes, most significantly for DDoS attacks against targets. The most...

FBI: Use a Burner Phone at the Olympics

Use a burner phone if you’re traveling to the Olympics, the FBI warned on Tuesday, lest you come home with a nasty case of malware and/or snatched personal data. The FBI didn’t mention specific threats, per se, but its alert warned those traveling to the February 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and...

Beijing Olympics App Flaws Allow Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

The mobile app that all attendees and athletes of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics must use to manage communications and documentation at the event has a “devastating” flaw in the way it encrypts data that can allow for man-in-the-middle attacks that access sensitive user information,...