Security News

Any organizations that used the backdoored SolarWinds network-monitoring software should take another look at their logs for signs of intrusion in light of new guidance and tooling. In an update and white paper [PDF] released on Tuesday, FireEye warned that the hackers - which intelligence services and computer security outfits have concluded were state-sponsored Russians - had specifically targeted two groups of people: those with access to high-level information, and sysadmins.

A couple of researchers claim they have earned $50,000 from Apple for finding some serious vulnerabilities that gave them access to the tech giant's servers. Harsh Jaiswal and Rahul Maini, India-based bug bounty hunters who specialize in application security, said they discovered the flaws in recent months, being inspired by a group of researchers who in October reported receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Apple for a total of 55 vulnerabilities, including ones that exposed source code, iCloud accounts, warehouse software, and employee and customer apps.

Project Zero, Google's 0day bug-hunting team, revealed a hacking campaign coordinated by "a highly sophisticated actor" and targeting Windows and Android users with zero-day and n-day exploits. The Project Zero team, in collaboration with the Google Threat Analysis Group, discovered a watering hole attack using two exploit servers in early 2020, each of them using separate exploit chains to compromise potential targets.

Cybersecurity researchers have exposed the operations of an Android malware vendor who teamed up with a second threat actor to market and sell a remote access Trojan capable of device takeover and exfiltration of photos, locations, contacts, and messages from popular apps such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Skype, Telegram, Kik, Line, and Google Messages. The vendor, who goes by the name of "Triangulum" in a number of darknet forums, is alleged to be a 25-year-old man of Indian origin, with the individual opening up shop to sell the malware three years ago on June 10, 2017, according to an analysis published by Check Point Research today.

Ticketmaster has agreed to pay a $10 million fine after being charged with illegally accessing computer systems of a competitor repeatedly between 2013 and 2015 in an attempt to "Cut off at the knees." The allegations were first reported in 2017 after CrowdSurge sued Live Nation for antitrust violations, accusing Ticketmaster of accessing confidential business plans, contracts, client lists, and credentials of CrowdSurge tools.

Ticketmaster must pay a hefty $10 million fine after several employees utilized unlawfully obtained passwords to hack a rival company's computer systems - in attempts to "Choke off" its business. The American ticket sales and distribution giant, which is owned by Live Nation, in 2013 hired an employee who formerly worked for Ticketmaster's rival company, according to the Department of Justice last week.

Accused hacker and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US to stand trial, Westminster Magistrates' Court has ruled. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Assange this morning that there was no legal obstacle to his being sent to the US, where he faces multiple criminal charges under America's Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act over his WikiLeaks website.

Ticketmaster agreed on Wednesday to pay a $10 million fine to escape prosecution over criminal charges accusing the company of hacking into the computer system of a startup rival. read more

VMware is the latest company to confirm that it had its systems breached in the recent SolarWinds attacks but denied further exploitation attempts. VMware also disputed media reports that a zero-day vulnerability in multiple VMware products reported by the NSA was used as an additional attack vector besides the SolarWinds Orion platform to compromise high-profile targets.

We look at phishing tricks that really work, investigate a bizarre scam involving Subway sandwiches, and ask whether cybercriminals have lost their interest in the rest of us now they have coronavirus-related targets to go after. LISTEN NOW. Click-and-drag on the soundwaves below to skip to any point in the podcast.