Spy Operations Target Vietnam with Sophisticated RAT

An advanced cyberespionage campaign targeting government and military entities in Vietnam has been discovered that delivered a remote-access tool RAT for carrying out espionage operations, researchers said. Further analysis suggested that this campaign was conducted by a group related to a...

CopperStealer Malware Targets Facebook and Instagram Business Accounts

A malware that until now has gone undocumented has been quietly hijacking online accounts of advertisers and users of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Google and other web giants since July 2019 and then using them for nefarious activity, researchers have found. Dubbed CopperStealer, the malware acts...

Yeezy Fans Face Sneaker-Bot Armies for Hot Kicks Releases

Shopping bots are likely to make it tough for everyday sneakerheads to get their hands on a pair of new Adidas Yeezy shoes from Kanye West as more styles become available through retailers in the next few months. Researchers at Cequence Security track bots across the internet, and the company’s...

Stolen Jones Day Law Firm Files Posted on Dark Web

The Clop ransomware group has reportedly started posting data on the Dark Web apparently stolen from law firm Jones Day, which represents many of the globe’s most powerful people, including former president Donald Trump in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But the attack had nothing to d...

Military, Nuclear Entities Under Target By Novel Android Malware

Researchers have uncovered two novel Android surveillanceware families being used by an advanced persistent threat APT group to target military, nuclear and election entities in Pakistan and Kashmir. The two malware families, which researchers call “Hornbill” and “SunBird,” have sophisticated...

Ransomware Demands Spike 320%, Payments Rise

When it comes to paying the ransom in a ransomware attack, demands are on the rise. Yet, many companies that paid the ransom failed to receive a decryption key, in a survey issued Monday. In fact, pandemic-themed phishing scams, a sustained onslaught of ransomware attacks and the rise of a remote...

Google Searches Expose Stolen Corporate Credentials

Attackers behind a recently discovered phishing campaign have unintentionally left more than 1,000 stolen credentials available online via simple Google searches, researchers have found. The campaign, which began in August 2020, used e-mails that spoof notifications from Xerox scans to lure victi...

Apple Kills MacOS Feature Allowing Apps to Bypass Firewalls

Apple has removed a contentious macOS feature that allowed some Apple apps to bypass content filters, VPNs and third-party firewalls. The feature, first uncovered in November in a beta release of the macOS Big Sur feature, was called “ContentFilterExclusionList” and included a list of at least 50...

Threatpost Poll: Weigh in on Ransomware Security

It’s no secret that ransomware attacks continue to rise – with the number of attacks jumping by 350 percent since 2018. Healthcare systems have been hit particularly hard over the past year by ransomware actors, with a recent report saying that healthcare organizations have seen a 45 percent...

Lazarus Group Hits COVID-19 Vaccine-Maker in Espionage Attack

The advanced persistent threat APT known as Lazarus Group and other sophisticated nation-state actors are actively trying to steal COVID-19 research to speed up their countries’ vaccine-development efforts. That’s the finding from Kaspersky researchers, who found that Lazarus Group — widely...

Tech Giants Lend WhatsApp Support in Spyware Case Against NSO Group

Facebook subsidiary WhatsApp has received new high-caliber support in its case against Israeli intelligence company NSO Group. The court case aims to hold NSO Group accountable for distributing its Pegasus spyware on the popular WhatsApp messaging service with the intent of planting its spyware o...

Insider Threats: What Are They, Really?

What an insider threat really is The idea of an “insider threat” sounds like some sort of double agent hiding away in a cubicle—someone hired to steal company secrets and take you down. That sounds pretty exciting, but it’s not very accurate. When we talk about insider threats, in reality, we’re...

Facebook Shutters Accounts Used in APT32 Cyberattacks

Facebook has shut down several accounts and Pages on its platform, which were used to launch phishing and malware attacks by two cybercriminal groups: APT32 in Vietnam and an unnamed threat group based in Bangladesh. Click to register. The social-media giant said it has removed both groups’ abili...

PLEASE_READ_ME Ransomware Attacks 85K MySQL Servers

Researchers are warning on an active ransomware campaign that’s targeting MySQL database servers. The ransomware, called PLEASEREADME, has thus far breached at least 85,000 servers worldwide – and has posted at least 250,000 stolen databases on a website for sale. MySQL is an open-source relation...

Reverse Engineering Tools: Evaluating the True Cost

When sourcing software for business needs, what criteria should you follow? Price typically tops the list. And sure, free software, like the Linux OS, delivers cost savings, stability, flexibility and ongoing development. No argument there. But when it comes to decompilers, which are used for...

Code42 Incydr Series: Honing in on high-risk users with Code42 Incydr

The crux of the insider threat challenge is that everyone can be a risk. That’s why most security teams are focusing on gaining broader and deeper visibility into all file activity — especially the surge in remote, off-network activity. But this doesn’t mean that security teams should discount...

Magecart Attack Convincingly Hijacks PayPal Transactions at Checkout

Just in time for a busy online holiday shopping season, the Magecart gang has come up with a new credit-card skimming technique for hijacking PayPal transactions during checkout. A security researcher who identifies himself as Affable Kraut discovered the technique, which uses...

Code42 Incydr Series: Protect IP with Code42 Incydr

Stealing a jumbo-jet airplane sounds like a ridiculous movie, but it’s actually just one example of IP theft. It’s happening to tech giants like Twitter and Google, and consumer brands like Hershey. But it’s also happening to organizations built around security — like McAfee and even the CIA. In...

Food-Supply Giant Americold Admits Cyberattack

Americold, a company whose cold-storage capabilities are integral to the U.S. food-supply chain and soon, COVID-19 vaccine distribution, has confirmed an operations-impacting cyberattack, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC. The filing was brief and read in part:...

Apple to Deliver 'Privacy Labels' for Apps, Revealing Data-Sharing Details

After years of complaints about over-permissioned apps that collect, use and share private user information, Apple will be making developer privacy policies more transparent for consumers. Starting Dec. 8, iOS and macOS developers will be required to provide detailed information about how their...

Feds Seize $1B in Bitcoin from Silk Road

The feds have seized its largest stash ever of Bitcoin, originating from the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace. The federal coffers are now $1 billion richer. Silk Road was known for the place to go to broker illegal drugs, murder-for-hire, child pornography and malware – such as passwo...

TikTok Launches Bug Bounty Program Amid Security SNAFUs

TikTok has expanded its vulnerability disclosure policy to include a global bug-bounty program through a partnership with the ethical hacker platform HackerOne. The bug-bounty program launch signals a new direction for the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, which has been much maligned for its...

Zoom Rolls Out End-to-End Encryption After Setbacks

Video-conferencing giant Zoom is rolling out a technical preview of its end-to-end encryption E2EE next week. Zoom has faced various controversies around its encryption policies over the past year, including several lawsuits alleging that the company falsely told users that it offers full...

BEC Attacks: Nigeria No Longer the Epicenter as Losses Top $26B

A study of more than 9,000 instances of business email compromise BEC attacks all over the world shows that the number has skyrocketed over the past year, and that the social-engineering scam has expanded well beyond its historic roots in Nigeria. The report from Agari’s Cyber Intelligence Divisi...

Feds Sound Alarm Over Emotet Attacks on State, Local Govs

A dramatic uptick in Emotet phishing attacks since July has led the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA to issue a warning that state and local governments need to fortify their systems against the trojan. “This increase has rendered Emotet one of the most prevalent ongoing...

Security Takeaways from the Great Work-from-Home Experiment

As states deal with re-opening and in some cases, re-closing, the reality is that for many organizations, remote work will play a significant role in business through 2020 and beyond. And so will increased cybercriminal activity, as demonstrated by a 131 percent increase in viruses and about 600...

Hackers Exploit Autodesk Flaw in Recent Cyberespionage Attack

Threat actors exploited a vulnerability in the popular 3D computer graphics Autodesk software in order to launch a recent cyber-espionage attack against an international architectural and video production company. Researchers said that further analysis of the attack points to a sophisticated,...

IcedID Trojan Rebooted with New Evasive Tactics

Threat actors have enhanced a banking trojan that has been widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic with new functionality to help it avoid detection by potential victims and standard security protections. Attackers have implemented several new features — including a password-protected attachment...

Black Hat 2020: In a Turnaround, Voting Machine Vendor Embraces Ethical Hackers

Voting machine-maker Election Systems & Software ES&S has formally announced a vulnerability disclosure policy, Wednesday, during a Black Hat USA 2020 session. The move, which comes with the U.S. presidential elections looming in November, shows that voting-machine vendors are beginning to take t...

Joker Android Malware Dupes Its Way Back Onto Google Play

A new variant of the infamous Joker malware has once again made it onto Google Play, with Google removing 11 malicious Android applications from its official app marketplace, researchers disclosed Thursday. Malicious apps spreading the Joker have continued to skirt Google Play’s protections since...

REvil Ransomware Gang Adds Auction Feature for Stolen Data

The REvil ransomware gang also known as Sodinokibi has added an auction feature to its underground website that allows anonymous bidding on information stolen in its targeted ransomware campaigns. The auction capability appeared at the beginning of June, according to an analysis from Cyberint. In...

Office 365 Users Targeted By 'Coronavirus Employee Training' Phish

Researchers are warning of a new phishing attack that purports to send coronavirus training resources to employees who are returning to the workplace, as COVID-19 lockdowns lift. The recent phishing campaign leverages novel training programs that are required for employees in the workplace to...

The Evolution of DevSecOps

The DevOps methodology offers organizations of all sizes from across all industries a framework for delivering value and responsiveness. Instead of traditional distinct development and operations teams, DevOps embraces multidisciplinary teams that use efficient practices that support continuous...

Knoxville Ransomware Attack Leads to IT Network Shutdown

The city of Knoxville, Tenn. is reeling from a ransomware attack that knocked the city’s network offline and prevented police officers from responding to non-life-threatening traffic crashes. The incident occurred Wednesday and shuttered systems until Thursday. Also impacted was the city’s intern...

PonyFinal Ransomware Targets Enterprise Servers Then Bides Its Time

A Java-based ransomware known as PonyFinal has galloped onto the scene, targeting enterprise systems management servers as an initial infection vector. According to a warning on Twitter from Microsoft Security Intelligence on Wednesday, PonyFinal is not an automated threat, but rather has humans...

U.S. Universities Hit With 'Adult Dating' Spear-Phishing Attack

Several U.S. universities have been targeted in a widespread spear-phishing attack that uses adult dating as a lure. In reality, the emails spread the Hupigon remote access trojan RAT, known to be leveraged by state-sponsored threat actors. Researchers from Proofpoint warned that the ongoing...

PPE, COVID-19 Medical Supplies Targeted by BEC Scams

Much has been publicized about the shortage of personal protective equipment PPE and other supplies for healthcare facilities in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the FBI is warning that threat actors are taking advantage of efforts to procure PPE and critical equipment such as...

Coronavirus Poll Results: Cyberattacks Ramp Up, WFH Prep Uneven

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep the globe and Americans are told to isolate from others, many organizations are sending employees home to work. While most respondents in a Threatpost poll this week said they feel prepared from a security standpoint for this transition, a fifth of them...

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...

Microsoft OneNote Used To Sidestep Phishing Detection

A phishing campaign was recently discovered leveraging OneNote, Microsoft’s digital notebook that automatically saves and syncs notes, to bypass detection tools and download malware onto victims’ systems. The attacker was utilizing OneNote as a way to easily experiment with various lures that...

ThreatList: Ransomware Costs Double in Q4, Sodinokibi Dominates

Ransomware costs more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2019, with the average ransom payment skyrocketing to $84,116, a 104 percent surge up from $41,198 in the third quarter. Researchers said that the leap up in ransomware costs are due in large part to some attackers pushing variants such ...

U.N. Weathers Storm of Emotet-TrickBot Malware

The operators behind the notorious Emotet malware have taken aim at United Nations personnel in a targeted attack ultimately bent on delivering the TrickBot trojan. According to researchers at Confense, a concerted phishing campaign has been using emails purporting to be from the Permanent Missio...

Austin Man Indicted for Stealing Unreleased Music from Artists

A 27-year-old man who allegedly impersonated a music producer in an effort to nab unreleased music from various artists has been indicted. If convicted, he faces 27 years in prison on charges of conspiring with others to commit wire fraud, computer intrusion and committing aggravated identity...

Gnip Banking Trojan Shows Ongoing, Aggressive Development

A new custom mobile banking malware for Android, dubbed Gnip, has emerged onto the scene, and its authors have taken an aggressive development track: Gnip appears to have been cobbled together in under five months, with four different variants already circulating — including a sample released in...

Marriott Hit With $123M Fine For Massive 2018 Data Breach

The U.K.’s privacy watchdog is hitting Marriott International with a $123 million £99 million penalty stemming from its 2018 data breach of more than 383 million guest records. The Tuesday fine is issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office ICO and comes only a day after the organization...

Post-Data Breach, British Airways Slapped With Record $230M Fine

UPDATE A record $230 million fine has been proposed against British Airways after a 2018 data breach impacted 500,000 of the airline’s customers. If approved, the fee would be the biggest General Data Protection Regulation GDPR fine to be issued to a company so far. On Monday, the Information...

Is Privacy Really iPhone? Researchers Weigh in on Apple's Targeted Ad Tracking

Apple has a consistent track record of implementing privacy controls, which it has been touting via a series of saturating “Privacy? That’s iPhone” television ads. Yet, though it may be deservedly capitalizing on the increasing privacy-consciousness of consumers out there and the negative headlin...

Microsoft’s Latest Patch Hoses Some Antivirus Software

Microsoft’s April 9 security update is bogging down systems running antivirus software packages made by McAfee, Avast, ArcaBit, Avira and Sophos. According to Microsoft, the company’s April Patch Tuesday security update is causing some systems to have slow startup times, sluggish performance or...

Insecure Ride App Database Leaks Data of 300K Iranian Drivers

A researcher has discovered that over a quarter-million drivers of the Iranian ride hailing app Tap30 have had their data left publicly exposed in an insecure database. Tap30 is an online taxi application, similar to Uber, that connects users to drivers through the mobile app and the corporate...

Fake Instagram Apps on Google Play Harvest User Logins

Three apps on Google Play claiming to help Instagram users amass followers have been found stealing usernames and passwords for the social photo service. The fake apps were uncovered by Malwarebytes, and are still available, according to Nathan Collier, a security researcher with the firm. “As th...