Security News
The team behind Exploit, a major cybercrime forum used by ransomware gangs to hire affiliates and advertise their Ransomware-as-a-Service services, has announced that ransomware ads are now banned and will be removed. The move follows the announcement made by the XSS Russian-speaking hacking forum yesterday about ransomware topics being permanently banned.
Four individuals from Eastern Europe face 20 years in prison for Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization charges after pleading guilty to running a bulletproof hosting service as a safe haven for cybercrime operations targeting US entities. The bulletproof hosting service was founded by Russian citizens Aleksandr Grichishkin and Andrei Skvortsov, who hired Lithuanian Aleksandr Skorodumov and Estonian Pavel Stassi as the organization's system admin and administrator, respectively.
A new threat actor that appears to be financially motivated has targeted many organizations in the United States and other countries using several new pieces of malware, FireEye reported on Tuesday. The phishing campaign conducted by UNC2529 targeted a wide range of organizations, and involved the use of a sizable command and control infrastructure, three sophisticated malware families, and custom lures.
Under the agreement, Cyber Intelligence House will be responsible for providing INTERPOL with resources and services that aid in investigating cybercrime, Virtual Asset crime and combating as well as actively monitoring the dark web, deemed essential for staying one step ahead of criminals around the world. Mikko Niemela, CEO of Cyber Intelligence House, strongly believes that it is a win-win for everyone stating that the "Partnership with INTERPOL gives us an excellent opportunity to learn from the frontline of investigations enabling us to enhance our service offering even further."
As businesses store more customer data online, thereby increasing their vulnerability to cybercrime, LegalShield announced the newest addition to its portfolio of personal and business security products: IDShield for Business. The cyberattack protection program offers companies with limited or no IT personnel, a comprehensive, affordable way to mitigate risk and recover from a cyberattack.
Europol's Serious Organized Crime Threat Assessment report 2021 summarizes the criminal threat of the last four years and provides insights into what to expect over the next four years. Organized crime is not limited to cybercrime, but cybercrime has become a major part of organized criminal activity.
NortonLifeLock revealed that in the past year nearly 330 million people across 10 countries were victims of cybercrime and more than 55 million people were victims of identity theft. The report, conducted online by The Harris Poll among over 10,000 adults in 10 countries including 1,000 in the United States, also found 25% of Americans detected unauthorized access to an account or device in the past 12 months.
The Swarmshop cyber-underground "Card shop" has been hit by hackers, who lifted the site's database of stolen payment-card data and leaked it online. Card shops, are online cybercriminal forums where stolen payment-card data is bought and sold.
Bitdefender released a report revealing top cybersecurity threats, frequency of threats and cybercrime trends of 2020. "Our 2020 findings depict consumers under constant assault from cybercriminals looking to capitalize on fear and societal uncertainty accompanying the global pandemic," said Bogdan Botezatu, director of threat research and reporting at Bitdefender.
Alongside shifts in what types of financial institutions were being targeted, Kaspersky also noticed regional malware actors going global and advanced persistent threats that aren't normally involved in financial crimes broadening their horizons to include such acts in 2020. In terms of specific numbers, Kaspersky noticed a slight decline in the number of users hit by phishing attacks in 2020, with only 13.21% being targeted, compared to 15.7% in 2019.