Security News

Alleged Brit SIM-swapper will kill himself if extradited to US for trial, London court told
2021-11-23 16:10

De Rose allegedly conspired with members of a gang known as The Community to defraud someone identified in court as "RM". He is currently contesting extradition to the US to stand trial on wire fraud, theft, and money laundering charges. De Rose's extradition hearing comes after the National Crime Agency arrested eight men aged between 18 and 26 back in February on suspicion of carrying out SIM-swap attacks targeted at US citizens.

Alleged Twitter hacker charged with theft of $784K in crypto via SIM swaps
2021-11-03 22:55

The US Department of Justice has indicted a suspected Twitter hacker known as 'PlugWalkJoe' for also stealing $784,000 worth of cryptocurrency using SIM swap attacks. SIM swap attacks are when threat actors take control of targets' phone numbers by porting them to their own device's SIM card.

Hardware-grade enterprise authentication without hardware: new SIM security solution for IAM
2021-10-25 12:21

Hardware-based security tokens or dongles have gained popularity, particularly at the enterprise level. Tiny hardware devices are not without their challenges.

The FCC proposes rules to fight SIM swap and port-out fraud
2021-10-01 15:33

The Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. this week announced that it started to work on rules that would pull the brake on SIM swapping attacks. The decision comes after the agency "Received numerous complaints from consumers who have suffered significant distress, inconvenience, and financial harm as a result of SIM swapping and port-out fraud."

Mafia works remotely, too, it seems: 100+ people suspected of phishing, SIM swapping, email fraud cuffed
2021-09-21 05:16

Police arrested 106 people suspected of carrying out online fraud for an organized crime gang linked to the Italian Mafia, Europol said on Monday. It's claimed the suspects scammed hundreds of victims using phishing; SIM swapping attacks, in which crooks typically take control of people's cellphone numbers to get account login tokens texted to them; and so-called business email compromise, in which fraudsters typically use bogus invoices and the like to trick company staff into transferring money to the thieves.

New Passwordless Verification API Uses SIM Security for Zero Trust Remote Access
2021-08-26 02:47

As companies nudge their staff to return to communal workspaces, many workers don't actually want to - more than 50 percent of employees would rather quit, according to research by EY. While HR teams worry over the hearts and minds of staff, IT security professionals have a different battle plan to draft - how to make the new normal of the hybrid workplace secure. In a hybrid workplace, a Zero Trust strategy means ever-tightening security.

New Passwordless Verification API Uses SIM Security for Zero Trust Remote Access
2021-08-26 02:47

As companies nudge their staff to return to communal workspaces, many workers don't actually want to - more than 50 percent of employees would rather quit, according to research by EY. While HR teams worry over the hearts and minds of staff, IT security professionals have a different battle plan to draft - how to make the new normal of the hybrid workplace secure. In a hybrid workplace, a Zero Trust strategy means ever-tightening security.

SIM swap scammer pleads guilty to Instagram account hijacks, crypto theft
2021-08-16 15:27

Declan Harrington, a Massachusetts man charged two years ago for his alleged involvement in a series of SIM swapping attacks, pleaded guilty to stealing cryptocurrency from multiple victims and hijacking the Instagram account of others. Harrington was charged with Eric Meiggs in November 2019 for targeting the owners of high-value Instagram and Tumblr accounts.

Hacker Pleads Guilty to SIM Swapping Attacks, Cryptocurrency Theft
2021-08-16 11:48

A Rockport, Massachusetts, man has pleaded guilty over his role in a scheme targeting people who had high-value social media accounts or who were believed to have large amounts of cryptocurrency. The man, Declan Harrington, 21, together with co-conspirator Eric Meiggs and others, targeted people who were believed to have significant amounts of cryptocurrency or high-value social media accounts, also referred to as OG accounts, through a method called SIM swapping.

New API Lets App Developers Authenticate Users via SIM Cards
2021-06-29 02:51

SMS alone may not be secure, but mobile phone numbers tethered to a SIM card are: they're a unique pairing that is difficult to tamper with or copy. It is now possible to prevent fraud and fake accounts while seamlessly verifying mobile users using the most cryptographically secure identifier they already have - the SIM card embedded in their mobile devices.