U.S. Indicts 2 Top Russian Hackers, Sanctions Cryptex
The United States today unveiled sanctions and indictments against the alleged proprietor of Joker's Stash, a now-defunct cybercrime store that peddled tens of millions of payment cards stolen in some of the largest data breaches of the past decade. The government also indicted a top Russian cybercriminal known as Taleon, whose cryptocurrency exchange Cryptex has evolved into one of Russia's most active money laundering networks.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/u-s-indicts-2-top-russian-hackers-sanctions-cryptex/
Timeshare Owner? The Mexican Drug Cartels Want You
The FBI is warning timeshare owners to be wary of a prevalent telemarketing scam involving a violent Mexican drug cartel that tries to trick elderly people into believing someone wants to buy their property. This is the story of a couple who recently lost more than $50,000 to an ongoing timeshare scam that spans at least two dozen phony escrow, title and realty firms.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/timeshare-owner-the-mexican-drug-cartels-want-you/
This Windows PowerShell Phish Has Scary Potential
Many GitHub users this week received a novel phishing email warning of critical security holes in their code. Those who clicked the link for details were asked to distinguish themselves from bots by pressing a combination of keyboard keys that causes Microsoft Windows to download password-stealing malware. While it's unlikely that many programmers fell for this scam, it's notable because less targeted versions of it are likely to be far more successful against the average Windows user.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/this-windows-powershell-phish-has-scary-potential/
The Dark Nexus Between Harm Groups and ‘The Com’
A cyberattack that shut down some of the top casinos in Las Vegas last year quickly became one of the most riveting security stories of 2023: It was the first known case of native English-speaking hackers in the United States and Britain teaming up with ransomware gangs based in Russia. But that made-for-Hollywood narrative has eclipsed a far more hideous trend: Many of these young, Western cybercriminals are also members of fast-growing online groups that exist solely to bully, stalk, harass and extort vulnerable teens into physically harming themselves and others.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/the-dark-nexus-between-harm-groups-and-the-com/
Bug Left Some Windows PCs Dangerously Unpatched
Microsoft Corp. today released updates to fix at least 79 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and related software, including multiple flaws that are already showing up in active attacks. Microsoft also corrected a critical bug that has caused some Windows 10 PCs to remain dangerously unpatched against actively exploited vulnerabilities for several months this year.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/bug-left-some-windows-pcs-dangerously-unpatched/
When Get-Out-The-Vote Efforts Look Like Phishing
Multiple media reports this week warned Americans to be on guard against a new phishing scam that arrives in a text message informing recipients they are not yet registered to vote. A bit of digging reveals the missives were sent by a California political consulting firm as part of a well-meaning but potentially counterproductive get-out-the-vote effort that had all the hallmarks of a phishing campaign.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/when-get-out-the-vote-efforts-look-like-phishing/
NationalPublicData.com Hack Exposes a Nation’s Data
A great many readers this month reported receiving alerts that their Social Security Number, name, address and other personal information were exposed in a breach at a little-known but aptly-named consumer data broker called NationalPublicData.com. This post examines what we know about a breach that has exposed hundreds of millions of consumer records. We'll also take a closer look at the data broker that got hacked -- a background check company founded by an actor and retired sheriff's deputy from Florida.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/nationalpublicdata-com-hack-exposes-a-nations-data/
Cybercrime Rapper Sues Bank over Fraud Investigation
In January, KrebsOnSecurity wrote about rapper Punchmade Dev, whose music videos sing the praises of a cybercrime lifestyle. That story showed how Punchmade's social media profiles promoted Punchmade-themed online stores selling bank account and payment card data. Now the Kentucky native is suing his financial institution after it blocked a $75,000 wire transfer and froze his account, citing an active law enforcement investigation.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/cybercrime-rapper-sues-bank-over-fraud-investigation/
Low-Drama ‘Dark Angels’ Reap Record Ransoms
A ransomware group called Dark Angels made headlines this past week when it was revealed the crime group recently received a record $75 million data ransom payment from a Fortune 50 company. Security experts say the Dark Angels have been around since 2021, but the group doesn't get much press because they work alone and maintain a low profile, picking one target at a time and favoring mass data theft over disrupting the victim's operations.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/low-drama-dark-angels-reap-record-ransoms/
FCC Fines Major U.S. Wireless Carriers for Selling Customer Location Data
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today levied fines totaling nearly $200 million against the four major carriers -- including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon -- for illegally sharing access to customers' location information without consent.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/04/fcc-fines-major-u-s-wireless-carriers-for-selling-customer-location-data/
April’s Patch Tuesday Brings Record Number of Fixes
If only Patch Tuesdays came around infrequently -- like total solar eclipse rare -- instead of just creeping up on us each month like The Man in the Moon. Although to be fair, it would be tough for Microsoft to eclipse the number of vulnerabilities fixed in this month's patch batch -- a record 147 flaws in Windows and related software.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/04/aprils-patch-tuesday-brings-record-number-of-fixes/
Juniper Support Portal Exposed Customer Device Info
Until earlier this week, the support website for networking equipment vendor Juniper Networks was exposing potentially sensitive information tied to customer products, including the exact devices each customer bought, as well as each device's warranty status, service contracts and serial numbers. Juniper said it has since fixed the problem, and that the inadvertent data exposure stemmed from a recent upgrade to its support portal.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/02/juniper-support-portal-exposed-customer-device-info/
Arrests in $400M SIM-Swap Tied to Heist at FTX?
Three Americans were charged this week with stealing more than $400 million in a November 2022 SIM-swapping attack. The U.S. government did not name the victim organization, but there is every indication that the money was stolen from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had just filed for bankruptcy on that same day.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/02/arrests-in-400m-sim-swap-tied-to-heist-at-ftx/
Using Google Search to Find Software Can Be Risky
Google continues to struggle with cybercriminals running malicious ads on its search platform to trick people into downloading booby-trapped copies of popular free software applications. The malicious ads, which appear above organic search results and often precede links to legitimate sources of the same software, can make searching for software on Google a dicey affair.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/01/using-google-search-to-find-software-can-be-risky/
ICANN Launches Service to Help With WHOIS Lookups
More than five years after domain name registrars started redacting personal data from all public domain registration records, the non-profit organization overseeing the domain industry has introduced a centralized online service designed to make it easier for researchers, law enforcement and others to request the information directly from registrars.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/12/icann-launches-service-to-help-with-whois-lookups/
Okta: Breach Affected All Customer Support Users
When KrebsOnSecurity broke the news on Oct. 20, 2023 that identity and authentication giant Okta had suffered a breach in its customer support department, Okta said the intrusion allowed hackers to steal sensitive data from fewer than one percent of its 18,000+ customers. But today, Okta revised that impact statement, saying the attackers also stole the name and email address for nearly all of its customer support users.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/11/okta-breach-affected-all-customer-support-users/
ID Theft Service Resold Access to USInfoSearch Data
One of the cybercrime underground's more active sellers of Social Security numbers, background and credit reports has been pulling data from hacked accounts at the U.S. consumer data broker USinfoSearch, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/11/id-theft-service-resold-access-to-usinfosearch-data/
Alleged Extortioner of Psychotherapy Patients Faces Trial
Prosecutors in Finland this week commenced their criminal trial against Julius Kivimäki, a 26-year-old Finnish man charged with extorting a once popular and now-bankrupt online psychotherapy practice and thousands of its patients. In a 2,200-page report, Finnish authorities laid out how they connected the extortion spree to Kivimäki, a notorious hacker who was convicted in 2015 of perpetrating tens of thousands of cybercrimes, including data breaches, payment fraud, operating a botnet and calling in bomb threats.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/11/alleged-extortioner-of-psychotherapy-patients-faces-trial/
A Closer Look at the Snatch Data Ransom Group
Earlier this week, KrebsOnSecurity revealed that the darknet website for the Snatch ransomware group was leaking data about its users and the crime gang's internal operations. Today, we'll take a closer look at the history of Snatch, its alleged founder, and their claims that everyone has confused them with a different, older ransomware group by the same name.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/a-closer-look-at-the-snatch-data-ransom-group/
‘Snatch’ Ransom Group Exposes Visitor IP Addresses
The victim shaming site operated by the Snatch ransomware group is leaking data about its true online location and internal operations, as well as the Internet addresses of its visitors, KrebsOnSecurity has found. The leaked data suggest that Snatch is one of several ransomware groups using paid ads on Google.com to trick people into installing malware disguised as popular free software, such as Microsoft Teams, Adobe Reader, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Discord.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/snatch-ransom-group-exposes-visitor-ip-addresses/
Adobe, Apple, Google & Microsoft Patch 0-Day Bugs
Microsoft today issued software updates to fix at least five dozen security holes in Windows and supported software, including patches for two zero-day vulnerabilities that are already being exploited. Also, Adobe, Google Chrome and Apple iOS users may have their own zero-day patching to do.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/adobe-apple-google-microsoft-patch-0-day-bugs/
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