Security News

3 Suspects Arrested in Maltese Bank Hacking Heist
2020-01-31 15:48

Police in the United Kingdom have arrested six suspects as part of a months-long money laundering investigation tied to the theft of €13 million from a Maltese bank. As part of the investigations into the bank heist, which has been tied to an organized crime gang, Britain's National Crime Agency says it arrested two men, ages 22 and 17, last week in London.

Sodinokibi Ransomware Group Sponsors Hacking Contest
2020-01-31 14:34

A current hacking competition on the illicit forum known as XSS offers members the chance to win a share of $15,000 in return for original articles containing proof-of-concept videos or original code, according to a Digital Shadows report, released on Thursday. In the past, competitions on underground forums offered much smaller prize winnings and also focused on lighthearted challenges meant to build community, rather than hacking prowess.

US Interior Dept extends drone grounding over foreign hacking fears
2020-01-31 12:39

Now can't be an easy time to be a professional drone pilot working for the US Department of the Interior. Until the issue is resolved, the only DOI drone flights allowed will be those connected to emergencies - monitoring wildfires and floods, both uses that underscore the importance of drones to the agency's work.

Questions Linger Over Investigation Into Jeff Bezos' Hacking
2020-01-24 19:03

Cybersecurity experts said Thursday there were still many unanswered questions from an investigation commissioned by Jeff Bezos that concluded the billionaire's cellphone was hacked, apparently after receiving a video file with malicious spyware from the WhatsApp account of Saudi Arabia's crown prince. The report further pointed to messages later sent from the prince's WhatsApp account to Bezos that showed "Apparent awareness" of private information.

Researchers Earn $280,000 for Hacking Industrial Systems at Pwn2Own Miami
2020-01-24 13:03

Researchers who took part this week in the Zero Day Initiative's Pwn2Own Miami hacking competition have earned a total of $280,000 for exploits targeting industrial control systems and associated protocols. The teams and individuals who signed up for the hacking contest were Incite Team, Flashback Team, Claroty Research, Ben McBride, Fabius Artrel, Michael Stepankin, Lucas Georges, and a nameless team comprising Tobias Scharnowski, Niklas Breitfeld, and Ali Abbasi from the Horst Goertz Institute for IT-Security in Germany.

Analysis: New Details on the Hacking of Jeff Bezos' iPhone
2020-01-24 09:33

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report offers an analysis of fresh details on the hacking of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' iPhone. Also featured: an update on Microsoft's exposure of customer...

Pwn2Own Miami Contestants Haul in $180K for Hacking ICS Equipment
2020-01-22 23:50

The very first Pwn2Own hacking competition that exclusively focuses on the industrial control systems has kicked off in Miami. On Day One, overall, there were six successful hacking attempts and two partially successful attempts against eight hacking targets, according to ZDI. On Day Two, there were three successful hacks and two partials against four total targets.

UN Experts Urge Probe Into Alleged Saudi Hacking of Bezos Phone
2020-01-22 16:28

Independent UN rights experts said Wednesday they had received information that Amazon owner Jeff Bezos's phone was hacked through a WhatsApp account belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. "The alleged hacking of Mr Bezos's phone, and those of others, demands immediate investigation by US and other relevant authorities," UN Special Rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and David Kaye said in a statement in Geneva.

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia accused of hacking Jeff Bezos' phone with malware-laden WhatsApp message
2020-01-22 00:31

Candid pictures used to threaten Amazon boss Jeff Bezos were exposed not by his current paramour's brother, as some believe, but through a sophisticated hacking operation personally directed by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, The Guardian suggests. The paper today claims to have been told by anonymous sources that Bezos' phone was hacked using a WhatsApp message from the personal account of bin Salman himself.

Brazilian Prosecutors Accuse Glenn Greenwald in Hacking Case
2020-01-21 19:29

Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday accused U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald of involvement in hacking the phones of officials involved in a corruption investigation, but said court rulings protecting free speech prevent them from bringing charges. Greenwald's The Intercept Brasil published excerpts from conversations involving Justice Minister Sérgio Moro, saying they showed the then-judge was improperly coordinating with prosecutors at the time he was a judge overseeing a vast corruption investigation.