‘DeadRinger’ Targeted Exchange Servers Long Before Discovery

Threat actors linked to China exploited the notorious Microsoft Exchange ProxyLogon vulnerabilities long before they were publicly disclosed, in attacks against telecommunications companies aimed at stealing sensitive customer data and maintaining network persistence, researchers have found...

Android Apps in Google Play Harvest Facebook Credentials

A set of nine malicious Android apps that steal Facebook credentials were found on Google Play, which racked up a collective 5.9 million installations before Google removed them. According to Dr. Web’s malware analysts, the applications were fully functional, so that victims remained in the dark...

Data Exfiltration: What You Should Know to Prevent It

In today’s digitally driven era, data is the most critical component of a business. Companies are collecting more data than ever before, and constantly enhancing their operations through data-driven decisions. As a result, data leaks are a serious concern for companies of all sizes; if one occurs...

My Book Live Users Wake Up to Wiped Devices

If you haven’t already, stop reading and go yank your My Book Live storage device offline, lest you join the ranks of those who woke up on Thursday to find that years of data had been wiped clean on devices around the world. Western Digital’s My Book storage device is designed for consumers and...

Hackers Steal FIFA 21 Source Code, Tools in EA Breach

Hackers have breached computer game maker Electronic Arts EA and stolen source code and related tools for the company’s extensive game library, the company has confirmed. EA said it’s investigating “a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and...

Where Bug Bounty Programs Fall Flat

Eavesdropping on the chatter of 600+ cybercriminal forums shows that cybercriminals have specific preferences, shown by the flavors of exploits they requisition, and that the bug bounty programs either are too slow, don’t pay enough or are just the start of profit-making. A year-long study into t...

Cyberattack Forces Meat Producer to Shut Down Operations in U.S., Australia

The world’s largest meat distributor shut down some operations in both the United States and Australia over the Memorial Day weekend after a cyberattack on its IT systems that could have a significant effect on the food supply chain if not resolved quickly. Attackers targeted several servers...

Combatting Insider Threats with Keyboard Security

As cyberattacks snowball and insider threats become an ever-larger part of the problem, it may be time to move beyond purely software-based cyber-defenses. Implementing hardware-based security, like secure keyboards, can be an important part of the mix. Those in IT-leadership roles are well aware...

Reservation System Fixes Easy-to-Exploit XSS Bug

An easy-to-exploit bug impacting the WordPress plugin ReDi Restaurant Reservation allows unauthenticated attackers to pilfer reservation data and customer personal identifiable information by simply submitting a malicious snippet of JavaScript code into the reservation comment field. The bug...

Conti Gang Demands $40M Ransom from Florida School District

UPDATE The Conti Gang has demanded a $40 million ransom from a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., school district after a ransomware attack last month. Attackers stole personal information from students and teachers, disrupted the district’s networks, and caused some services to be unavailable. The incident...

Manufacturing's Cloud Migration Opens Door to Major Cyber-Risk

Web-facing applications continue to be one of the highest security risks present for organizations, with more than 40 percent of them actively leaking data in a way that can have a ripple affect across businesses and their partners, research has found. Moreover, manufacturing is particularly...

Purple Fox Malware Targets Windows Machines With New Worm Capabilities

A malware that has historically targeted exposed Windows machines through phishing and exploit kits has been retooled to add new “worm” capabilities. Purple Fox, which first appeared in 2018, is an active malware campaign that until recently required user interaction or some kind of third-party...

Trojanized Xcode Project Slips MacOS Malware to Apple Developers

Cybercriminals are targeting Apple developers with a trojanized Xcode project, which once launched installs a backdoor that has spying and data exfiltration capabilities. Xcode is comprised of a suite of free, open software development tools developed by Apple for creating software for macOS, iOS...

Teen Behind Twitter Bit-Con Breach Cuts Plea Deal

Thanks to a new plea deal with the Florida State Attorney’s Office, the 18-year-old behind last summer’s breach of Twitter’s high-profile accounts will not be charged as an adult, and instead will serve his sentence in juvenile detention. Graham Ivan Clark was arrested seven months ago, and has...

Cybercriminal Enterprise 'Ringleaders' Stole $55M Via COVID-19 Fraud, Romance Scams

Click to Register U.S. law enforcement arrested six “ringleaders” of a Ghana-based cybercriminal enterprise, who had allegedly launched a slew of money-stealing scams dating back to 2013 that included romance scams, business email compromise attacks and fraud. Seized in the arrests were a slew of...

WestRock Ransomware Attack Hinders Packaging Production

WestRock – the second-largest packaging company in the U.S. – continues to restore its systems, two weeks after it discovered it was the victim of a ransomware attack. WestRock, which has more than 320 manufacturing facilities globally, creates packaging supplies for a bevy of high-profile client...

Magento Web Skimmers Piggyback in Ongoing Costway Website Compromise

Two web skimmers have been discovered on the payment webpages of Costway, one of the top retailers in North America and Europe, which sells appliances, furniture and more. The skimmers are targeting consumers’ credit-card payment details. In a twist, researchers say one of these web skimmers is...

23M Gamer Records Exposed in VIPGames Leak

VIPGames.com, a free platform with a total of 56 available classic board and card games like Hearts, Crazy Eights, Euchre, Dominoes, Backgammon and others, has exposed the personal data of tens of thousands of users. In all, more than 23 million records for more than 66,000 users were left expose...

SolarWinds Hack Potentially Linked to Turla APT

New details on the Sunburst backdoor used in the sprawling SolarWinds supply-chain attack potentially link it to previously known activity by the Turla advanced persistent threat APT group. Researchers at Kaspersky have uncovered several code similarities between Sunburst and the Kazuar backdoor...

Nvidia Warns Windows Gamers of High-Severity Graphics Driver Flaws

Nvidia, which makes gaming-friendly graphics processing units GPUs, on Thursday fixed a slew of high-severity flaws affecting its graphics driver. The vulnerabilities allow bad actors to cripple systems with denial of service attacks, escalate privileges, tamper with data or sniff out sensitive...

'Free' Cyberpunk 2077 Downloads Lead to Data Harvesting

The hotly anticipated videogame title Cyberpunk 2077 comes out on Dec. 10, inspiring breathless countdowns from gaming publications and enthusiasts across the globe. As with all things zeitgeisty, cybercriminals are looking to cash in on the excitement, with scams that offer “free copies” while...

Federated Learning: A Therapeutic for what Ails Digital Health

For researchers and physicians the mountains of data hospitals and healthcare systems hold could be a goldmine for artificial intelligence and machine learning, but data privacy concerns and regulations have kept scientists from being able to harness that information to improve outcomes. Now...

IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act Passed, Heads to President's Desk

Security experts are applauding the recent stamp of approval by the U.S. Senate on a groundbreaking internet-of-things IoT security regulatory effort. The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act, which was led in bipartisan sponsorship by Reps. Will Hurd R-Texas and Robin Kelly D-Ill., would require th...

Russian Espionage Group Updates Custom Malware Suite

The advanced persistent threat APT known as Turla is targeting government organizations using custom malware, including an updated trio of implants that give the group persistence through overlapping backdoor access. Russia-tied Turla a.k.a. Ouroboros, Snake, Venomous Bear or Waterbug is a...

Mobile Browser Bugs Open Safari, Opera Users to Malware

A set of address-bar spoofing vulnerabilities that affect a number of mobile browsers open the door for malware delivery, phishing and disinformation campaigns. The bugs, reported by Rapid7 and independent researcher Rafay Baloch, affect six browsers, ranging from the common Apple Safari, Opera...

Carnival Corp. Ransomware Attack Affects Three Cruise Lines

Hackers accessed personal information of guests, employees and crew for three cruise line brands and the casino operations of Carnival Corp. in a ransomware attack the company suffered on Aug. 15, officials have confirmed. Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Seabourn were the brands...

UPDATE – TikTok Ban: Security Experts Weigh in on the App's Risks

UPDATE Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat over the weekend have gotten an 11th hour reprieve from a plan to cut off access to them. As a ban on U.S. downloads loomed for Sunday, TikTok owner ByteDance reached an agreement to sell significant ownership stakes to Oracle and Walmart. While the deal is...

DDoS Attacks Skyrocket as Pandemic Bites

The first half of 2020 saw a significant uptick in the number of distributed denial-of-service DDoS attacks compared to the same period last year — a phenomenon that appears to be directly correlated to the global coronavirus pandemic. Neustar’s Security Operations Center SOC saw a 151 percent...

New Global Threat Landscape Report Reveals 'Unprecedented' Cyberattacks

A newly released threat report, tracking the biggest trends in the cybercriminal landscape, shows that attackers have been capitalizing on the global pandemic in various ways – from ransomware to web-based malware. Derek Manky Derek Manky, Chief, Security Insights & Global Threat Alliances at...

Google Fixes Mysterious Audio Recording Blip in Smart Speakers

After Google Home users started receiving mysterious alerts when their fire alarms went off or their plates smashed in their homes, Google acknowledged that it accidentally rolled out a feature causing the smart devices to record sounds without the voice prompt. Reports of the privacy faux pas...

Microsoft Revamps Windows Insider Preview Bug Bounty Program

Microsoft has revamped its Windows Insider Preview bug bounty program with higher rewards and an improved portal for bounty hunters to report flaws, in an effort to help sniff out more vulnerabilities on its platform. The Microsoft Windows Insider Preview bounty program is part of the Microsoft...

Encryption Under ‘Full-Frontal Nuclear Assault’ By U.S. Bills

Encryption expert Riana Pfefferkorn believes new proposed laws – the EARN IT Act and the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act – pose dire threats to cybersecurity and privacy. In this Threatpost interview, Pfefferkorn, who is associate director of Surveillance and Cybersecurity at the Stanford...

Verizon Media, PayPal, Twitter Top Bug-Bounty Rankings

Bug-bounty programs have become a popular way for vendors to root out security flaws in their platforms, attracting talented white-hats with the promise of big rewards. According to HackerOne’s 2020 List of the Top 10 Bug Bounty Programs on its platform, Verizon Media, PayPal and Uber are in the...

RATicate Group Hits Industrial Firms With Revolving Payloads

Researchers have unearthed a new cybercrime group, RATicate, which is behind several waves of malspam attacks targeting industrial companies with various information-stealing payloads – from LokiBot to Agent Tesla. At least six separate campaigns have been tied to RATicate, with the first wave...

Paying Ransomware Crooks Doubles Clean-up Costs, Report

New research bolsters the often ignored advice to organizations not to pay a ransomware demanded by attackers. The report found paying a ransom to unlock systems can actually cost companies more financially than recovering data themselves in the long run. Research conducted by Vanson Bourne and...

Shade Threat Actors Call It Quits, Release 750K Encryption Keys

The threat actors behind the Shade ransomware have called it quits, releasing 750,000 encryption keys on GitHub and publicly apologizing to victims affected by the malware. User “shade-team” posted four files on the code repository earlier this week, one containing the file keys and four “ReadMe”...

Covid-19 Privacy Poll: Phone Tracking, Public Health and Surveillance

As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates, authorities worldwide are plotting ways to flatten the curve of infection rates using potentially privacy-busting measures such as phone tracking, facial recognition and other tech. In this Threatpost poll, we want your take on whether sacrificing personal...

Firefox Bug Opens iPhone AirPods to Third-Party Snooping

Five high-severity bugs were fixed in the Firefox web browser with the release of version 74 by the Mozilla Foundation on Tuesday. In addition, Mozilla reported a quirky moderate-severity flaw that allows hackers to target iPhone users and collect data tied to connected AirPods, if in use. In...

Spread of Coronavirus-Themed Cyberattacks Persists with New Attacks

As the coronavirus blows up into a worldwide pandemic, threat actors continue to exploit the disease to spread malware. Just this week, cybersecurity professionals identified a bevy of new threats ranging from coronavirus-themed malware attacks, booby-trapped URLs and credential stuffing scams. O...

Metamorfo Returns with Keylogger Trick to Target Financial Firms

Researchers have discovered a recent spate of phishing emails spreading a new variant of Metamorfo, a financial malware known for targeting Brazilian companies. Now, however, it’s expanding its geographic range and adding a new technique. Metamorfo was first discovered in April 2018, in various...

Gamaredon APT Improves Toolset to Target Ukraine Government, Military

The Gamaredon advanced persistent threat APT group has been supercharging its operations lately, improving its toolset and ramping up attacks on Ukrainian national security targets. Vitali Kremez, head of SentinelLabs, said in research released on Wednesday that he has been tracking an uptick in...

Man Sentenced in ATM Skimming Conspiracy

A New York state man has been sentenced to five years for an elaborate ATM skimming conspiracy that allowed him to steal at least $390,141 from victims. Bogdan Rusu, 39, of Queens, NY pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme, which used secret card-reading devices and pinhole cameras on...

The Scammer Force is Strong with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Whenever the internet lights up in anticipation of anything, there are fraudsters and scammers waiting in the wings to take advantage of it. This week’s premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is no exception, with cybercriminals eyeing one of the world’s most beloved franchises as rich fodd...

China-Linked Hackers Spy on Texts With MessageTap Malware

Researchers have discovered a new malware used for cyber-espionage efforts by China-linked threat group APT41. The malware intercepts telecom SMS server traffic and sniffs out certain phone numbers and SMS messages – particularly those with keywords relating to Chinese political dissidents. The...

Most Americans Fail Cybersecurity Quiz

When it comes to two-factor authentication and secure web browsing, most Americans don’t know their HTTPS from their 2FA to save their digital bacon: A Pew Research Center study found most Americans don’t have a firm grasp of cybersecurity issues core to protecting their data. Click to enlarge. I...

FIN6 Switches Up PoS Tactics to Target E-Commerce

The financial cybergang known as the FIN6 group, known for going after brick-and-mortar point-of-sale PoS data in the U.S. and Europe, has changed up its tactics to target e-commerce sites. According to researchers at IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services IRIS, FIN6 a.k.a. ITG08...

Choice Hotels Breach Showcases Need for Shared Responsibility Model

Hospitality giant Choice Hotels fell victim to hackers this week, thanks to a MongoDB database that was left open to the internet containing 700,000 customer records. The situation highlights supply-chain data-security risk, given that the data was being held by a third-party vendor — and brings ...

Cryptolocking WordPress Plugin Locks Up Blog Posts

A malicious WordPress plugin ironically called WP Security has been spotted in the wild encrypting blog posts and rendering the content unreadable. It’s capable of targeting individual posts — an unusual behavior, according to researchers. According to analysis from Sucuri, the plugin obtains a...

Rules-Based Policy Approaches Need to Go

Enterprises are making tremendous investments in their digital transformations, and no wonder: Increasingly, those who can more rapidly part from old, manual and antiquated ways of managing technology and shift to new ways of thinking will come out on top. That’s especially true when it comes to...

ThreatList: Tax Scammers Launch a Raft of Fake Mobile Apps

Tax Day in the U.S. is looming on Monday, and as people rush to do their last-minute filing, scammers are out in full force, targeting consumers and businesses alike. According to RiskIQ numbers, the internet is awash in crafty schemes and dangerous threat campaigns that exploit the convenience o...