Security News > 2020 > October
The US government on Monday formally charged six Russian intelligence officers for carrying out destructive malware attacks with an aim to disrupt and destabilize other nations and cause monetary losses. The individuals, who work for Unit 74455 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, have been accused of perpetrating the "Most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group," according to the Justice Department.
Six men have been named as Russian military hackers and accused of spreading malware, disrupting the Olympics in retaliation for Russia's doping ban, and meddling with elections as well as probes into Novichok poisonings. Targeted South Koreans, athletes, the International Olympic Committee officials, and more, with spear-phishing and malicious mobile apps in the run-up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Rapper Fontrell Antonio Baines, who goes by the stage name "Nuke Bizzle," made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles on Friday after being charged with fraudulently applying for more than $1.2 million in jobless benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. Authorities were tipped off to the scheme after Baines posted a music video on YouTube and Instagram titled "EDD," an apparent reference to the state unemployment agency.
The Department of Justice on Monday announced charges against six Russian nationals who are allegedly tied to the Sandworm APT. The threat group is believed to have launched several high-profile cyberattacks over the past few years - including the destructive NotPetya cyberattack that targeted hundreds of firms and hospitals worldwide in 2017. According to the DOJ complaint, the six Russian nationals are tied to a division of the Russian military intelligence service and also affiliated with the APT Sandworm, also known as TeleBots.
Kaspersky security researchers have identified versions of the GravityRAT spyware that are targeting Android and macOS devices. In a report published on Monday, Kaspersky reveals that the malware's authors have invested a lot into making their tool cross-platform, and that, as part of an ongoing campaign, both Android and macOS are now being targeted, in addition to Windows.
That's because many victimized organizations don't report a ransomware attack for fear of losing money, business, or private data. In a document on "How to Protect Your Networks from Ransomware," the US Department of Justice reported that more than 4,000 ransomware attacks have occurred each day since Jan. 1, 2016.
American voters face an especially pivotal, polarized election this year, and scammers here and abroad are taking notice - posing as fundraisers and pollsters, impersonating candidates and campaigns, and launching fake voter registration drives. It's not votes they're after, but to win a voter's trust, personal information and maybe a bank routing number.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced charges against six Russian intelligence officers for their alleged role in several major cyberattacks conducted over the past years. The men are said to be members of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, which has long been known to conduct hacking operations on behalf of Moscow.
Some of the world's most skilled nation-state cyber adversaries and notorious ransomware gangs are deploying an arsenal of new open-source tools, actively exploiting corporate email systems, and using online extortion to scare victims into paying ransoms, according to Accenture's 2020 Cyber Threatscape Report. "Since COVID-19 radically shifted the way we work and live, we've seen a wide range of cyber adversaries changing their tactics to take advantage of new vulnerabilities," said Josh Ray, who leads Accenture Security's global cyber defense practice, in a statement.
Windows 10 users face numerous issues installing the latest KB4579311 cumulative update, and for those who can install, they are reporting various bugs, including performance issues. Microsoft released the Windows 10 KB4579311 cumulative update on October 13th, 2020, and since then, users have been reporting problems getting the update to install, crashes, performance issues, and boot problems.