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December 31, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The leaders of the ransomware known as Sodinokibi (REvil Ransomware) have announced a nasty new tactic to get their victims to pay up when their files get encrypted. The hackers are now threatening that they’ll begin releasing stolen data to the general public or to competitors unless the ransom is paid. While hackers have made […]
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December 25, 2019 by Vertical Axion
On the Dark Web, there’s a live webcast show called “NulledCast” that few people have ever heard of. It’s pretty popular in Dark Web circles, though. The premise of the show is this: The hosts will hack the cameras in home security systems and mess with the owners. Ring and Nest are the two most […]
December 23, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at BlackBerry Cylance have discovered a new and dangerous strain of ransomware in the wild dubbed “Zeppelin”. It has been used to target small numbers of healthcare and technology-related companies in the US, Canada and Europe in recent weeks. An analysis of the code reveals that Zeppelin is related to, but distinct from the […]
December 21, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Do you have a home security system that incorporates Amazon’s Blink XT2 cameras? If so, be advised that researchers at Tenable Security recently identified several serious security flaws that would allow an attacker to take control of the cameras remotely and use them to spy on you and your family. The security issues are centered […]
December 20, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at SophosLabs have discovered a new threat to be on the alert for. A variant of the Snatch ransomware has been spotted in the wild. It features an innovative means of getting around whatever antivirus software you may be using to defend yourself. Disguised as a backup utility, when the malware is installed, it […]
December 17, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Researchers from Group-IB monitor the Dark Web and have recently reported the appearance of nearly half a million credit card records available for sale. Each record is valued at more than half a million dollars. The records were rolled out in staggered fashion, with the first file containing some 30,000 records. They included credit card […]
December 16, 2019 by Vertical Axion
If you use Google’s Chrome web browser, there’s a new threat you should be aware of. A new trojan targeting Windows-based machines will attempt to steal passwords stored in the Chrome browser. Dubbed CStealer, it was discovered by the Malware Hunter Team. They found some points of interest that make this threat more notable than […]
December 14, 2019 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new strain of malware in the wild. It is targeting Android devices and disguised as an innocuous chat app. Researchers at Trend Micro have discovered it in two different apps so far: Chatrious and the Apex App. Chatrious has since vanished from Google’s Play Store, but at the time this piece was written, […]
December 13, 2019 by Vertical Axion
According to data collected by Microsoft, phishing emails accounted for 0.62 percent of all inbox receipts in September 2019. That’s up from 0.31 percent just one year prior to that. The increase is alarming of course, but at first glance, these look like fairly harmless numbers. Unfortunately, last year, phishing emails targeting business owners (BEC, […]
December 12, 2019 by Vertical Axion
FaceApp is in the news again, and as before, not for a good reason. Several months ago, watchdog groups around the world sounded the alarm about the Russian-made app, which raised curious eyebrows. It just takes a photo you upload to it and ages you, what’s the harm in that? According to the FBI, quite […]
December 11, 2019 by Vertical Axion
There’s a war on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it’s taking a very different form than what commonly gets reported in the news media. This war is being waged by hackers and scammers, and they’re waging it by poisoning Holiday eCards designed to facilitate the distribution of malware. BleepingComputer discovered the trend, noting an uptick […]
December 10, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Recently, the Magento Marketplace was acquired by Adobe and suffered a breach that exposed a limited amount of user data to an unknown third party. When Adobe discovered evidence of the breach, they temporarily shut the marketplace down so they could assess the extent of the breach. It has subsequently been reopened. If you’re not […]
December 9, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The 2019 Holiday Season is officially upon us, and unfortunately, that means that scammers around the world are ramping up for another busy season. Deals are abound on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Sadly, those two big shopping days mark the beginning of a mad sprint to push out as many shopping-related scams as possible. […]
December 7, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft RDP has its share of problems. That simple truth has sparked the rise of a number of open-source VNC (Virtual Network Computing) applications, which allow a user to remotely control another computer. Regardless of which VNC solution you use, they all work pretty much the same way. There’s a “server component” which runs on […]
December 6, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Since October 2018, Microsoft engineers have been tracking a new strain of malware specifically designed to target Windows machines. As malware goes, this one isn’t particularly dangerous. It’s not designed to mass delete files, lock your system down or flood you with pop-up ads. Rather, its purpose is to install itself stealthily and live in […]
December 4, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Recently the US branch of the global telecom company T-Mobile disclosed a security breach that impacted a small percentage of its customer base. Specifically, the breach revealed certain information belonging to a small number of the company’s prepaid cellphone users. The exposed data included customer names, billing addresses, account numbers, rate plans, plan features […]
December 3, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Early in 2019, a new strain of ransomware appeared. Called “DeathRansom,” its bark was initially much worse than its bite. Researchers quickly discovered that the new strain only pretended to encrypt a user’s files. If victims simply removed the “encryption” extension, they could get their files back without doing anything at all. That ceased to […]
December 2, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Zombieload is back. First discovered in May of this year, it was described as a successor to the infamous Meltdown attack. That was a data-leaking side-channel vulnerability that impacted all Intel processor generations from 2011 and beyond. Intel hasn’t had a good run of late, being beset almost constantly by these kinds of issues, and […]
November 29, 2019 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new and unusual ransomware strain making the rounds that you should be aware of. Called ‘AnteFrigus,’ it is primarily distributed via ‘malvertising’ that redirects users to the RIG exploit kit. One of the most unusual features of this strain is the fact that it specifically doesn’t target the C: drive of the target […]
November 28, 2019 by Vertical Axion
It appears that Microsoft is getting rid of their Cortana App in several countries due to security concerns. The question is whether the United States will be next. Recently, the following notice appeared on Microsoft’s UK site: “To make your personal digital assistant as helpful as possible, we’re integrating Cortana into your Microsoft 365 productivity […]
November 27, 2019 by Vertical Axion
In case you weren’t already aware, Disney recently launched a new video streaming service called Disney+ which has been driving Netflix and other established streaming services crazy with fear and apprehension since it was first announced. If the early indications are any clue, Netflix has little to worry about, but Disney has their hands full. […]
November 25, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Do you have an Android device? Is it built around a Qualcomm chipset? If so, be advised that you may be at risk. According to a report recently published by security firm CheckPoint, a recently discovered flaw could allow hackers to steal a variety of sensitive information on your phone or tablet. The vulnerability resides […]
November 23, 2019 by Vertical Axion
On paper, it seems like a lovely idea to use a public charger. Airports, hotels, and other high traffic areas have begun to increasingly offer public USB power charging stations to give people a convenient means of recharging their favorite devices. Unfortunately, things are not working out quite according to plan. Naturally, hackers around the […]
November 22, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at Proofpoint have found evidence of a new threat actor who has been sending out convincing looking emails. They are claiming to come from several government agencies. These include the Italian Revenue Agency, the German Federal Ministry of Finance, and the United States Postal Service. This is all part of a malicious campaign designed […]
