Security News
The Iran-linked Cobalt Mirage crew is running attacks against America for both financial gain and for cyber-espionage purposes, according to Secureworks' threat intelligence team. For the espionage strikes, Cobalt Mirage pulls off targeted intrusions to gain access and collect intelligence, though the snoops appear to be experimenting with ransomware here as well, the threat hunters wrote.
How password fatigue can cost organizations time, money and mental energy. For its study, "Measuring Password Fatigue: Usability and Cybersecurity Impacts," Beyond Identity surveyed 1,047 Americans, including more than 600 full-time employees, to determine how password fatigue is affecting their daily lives.
China's internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, has published guidelines that aim to stop minors from giving tips or other forms of payment to livestreamers, watching after 10pm, or livestreaming themselves. "Website platforms must not develop functional applications that attract minors to tip or induce minors to give 'gifts.' If it is found that the website platform violates the aforementioned requirements, measures such as suspending the tipping function and shutting down the live broadcast business will be implemented," said the recently published Opinions on Regulating Online Live Rewards and Strengthening the Protection of Minors.
Ransomware operators have reimagined their business model with ransomware as a service, selling related services to other attackers through membership, subscription or customization. Learning from advanced persistent threat campaigns, threat actors are customizing ransomware attacks by using highly experienced attack teams that hit targeted victims with APT-like precision and capability.
The Russian cybercrime community, one of the most active and prolific in the world, is turning to alternative money-laundering methods due to sanctions on Russia and law enforcement actions against dark web markets. First came the bank sanctions and the blocking of SWIFT payments, a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
How phishing attacks are spoofing credit unions to steal money and account credentials. A report released Thursday by email security provider Avanan reveals how a new phishing campaign is taking advantage of credit unions to steal money and information.
A new wave of cryptocurrency systems dubbed De-Fi, short for decentralised finance, has arisen to fill that transactional void. Instead of depositing your funds with a licensed and regulated bank, and then trading with those funds by choosing from a carefully curated list of transaction types, De-Fi systems let you invest your money with them, in return for access to a "Smart contract" system that allows you trade automatically with other users of the system in a way to suit yourself.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is raising awareness about a spike in money recovery scams. The agency warns in an alert today that reports of money recovery scams this year have increased in Australia by 725% compared to the same period in 2021.
A financially motivated threat actor has been observed deploying a previously unknown rootkit targeting Oracle Solaris systems with the goal of compromising Automatic Teller Machine switching networks and carrying out unauthorized cash withdrawals at different banks using fraudulent cards. The intrusions staged by the actor involve "a high degree of OPSEC and leverage both public and private malware, utilities, and scripts to remove evidence and hinder response efforts," Mandiant researchers said in a new report published this week.
Spain's National Police Agency, the Policía Nacional, said last week it dismantled an unnamed cybercriminal organization and arrested eight individuals in connection with a series of SIM swapping attacks that were carried out with the goal of financial fraud. The suspects of the crime ring masqueraded as trustworthy representatives of banks and other organizations and used traditional phishing and smishing techniques to obtain personal information and bank data of victims before draining money from their accounts.