Security News
Crypto scams are on the rise due to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the number of people in need of financial assistance during COVID-19, says Bolster. Fully aware of this transition, cybercriminals are targeting more people and organizations with cryptocurrency scams.
Threat actors have started to use 'Promoted' tweets, otherwise known as Twitter ads, to spread cryptocurrency giveaway scams. For some time, BleepingComputer has been reporting on scammers hacking into verified Twitter accounts to promote fake cryptocurrency giveaway scams.
Unpatched network-attached storage devices are targeted in ongoing attacks where the attackers try to take them over and install cryptominer malware to mine for cryptocurrency. All NAS devices with QNAP firmware released before August 2020 are currently vulnerable to these attacks.
The creator of McAfee computer security software faces charges he cashed in on a "Pump-and-dump" scheme, promoting cryptocurrencies on Twitter to drive up their value. John McAfee, founder of the antivirus firm that bears his name, and Jimmy Watson face charges of conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering in connection with schemes to trick cryptocurrency investors, according to an indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice.
U.S. federal prosecutors have charged John McAfee, founder of cybersecurity firm McAfee, and his executive advisor Jimmy Gale Watson Jr for cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering. In total, McAfee, Watson, and other members of the McAfee Team were able to collect over $13 million from two cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes, according to court documents.
USDT cryptocurrency developer Tether has said they are being extorted by threat actors who are demanding 500 bitcoins, or approximately $24 million, not to leak allegedly stolen emails and documents. While Tether has stated that the documents circulating online are forged, they revealed yesterday that they received a ransom note demanding 500 bitcoins or this alleged data dump will be publicly released online.
The FBI, CISA, and US Department of Treasury shared detailed info on malicious and fake crypto-trading applications used by North Korean-backed state hackers to steal cryptocurrency from individuals and companies worldwide in a joint advisory published on Wednesday. "It is likely that these actors view modified cryptocurrency trading applications as a means to circumvent international sanctions on North Korea-the applications enable them to gain entry into companies that conduct cryptocurrency transactions and steal cryptocurrency from victim accounts."
The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday indicted three suspected North Korean hackers for allegedly conspiring to steal and extort over $1.3 billion in cash and cryptocurrencies from financial institutions and businesses. Accusing them of creating and deploying multiple malicious cryptocurrency applications, developing and fraudulently marketing a blockchain platform, the indictment expands on the 2018 charges brought against Park, one of the alleged nation-state hackers previously charged in connection with the 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The servers of British cryptocurrency exchange EXMO were taken offline temporarily after being targeted in a distributed denial-of-service attack. "We are currently experiencing a DDoS attack on our platform," the exchange said in a notification published earlier today.
These applications, which were promoted on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related forums such as bitcointalk and SteemCoinPan, relate directly to cryptocurrency. They purport to be "Jamm" and "eTrade," which are cryptocurrency trade management applications, and "DaoPoker," a cryptocurrency poker app.