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January 17, 2020 by Vertical Axion
If you’re not familiar with Landry’s, you’re probably familiar with at least some of the restaurants the company owns. The company recently issued a formal ‘Notification of Data Breach’ in which they disclosed that an unauthorized user was detected on their systems and that POS malware had been used between March 13 2019 and October […]
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January 16, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Scammers have breathed new life into an old scam. For years, the old ‘Law Enforcement Lock’ trick has been used to cheat unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money. The new wrinkle works like this: Scammers will redirect users using the Chrome web browser to sites that host a full-screen image of a Windows 10 desktop […]
January 15, 2020 by Vertical Axion
The year 2020 looks to be interesting and exciting in a variety of ways, but it also will usher in a tremendous amount of change. If you’re an IT manager, be aware that this year a number of Hallmark Microsoft products will reach their End of Support. That means the company won’t be issuing any […]
January 14, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at Trustwave have observed a notable increase in the use of .ISO files to deliver malware. Hackers have relied on poisoned disk image files for years to deliver malware to their targets. It makes sense in a Windows environment because it allows attackers to disguise their payloads as an innocent, standard file type. In […]
January 11, 2020 by Vertical Axion
If you have children that own Apple devices, be aware that the latest update for iOS 13.3 included a feature called Communications Limits. It is designed to allow parents to set up parental controls to keep their kids from speaking to, texting with, or Facetiming with anyone who’s not already in their contacts list. It’s […]
January 9, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at Positive Technologies recently discovered a serious vulnerability in Citrix Enterprise products that threatens the security of more than 80,000 companies in 158 countries around the world. The issue is being tracked as CVE-2019-19781. If it is left unpatched, it puts companies using either product at risk of phishing attacks, malware, cryptojacking attacks ,and […]
January 7, 2020 by Vertical Axion
According to a recent FBI alert marked “TLP: AMBER,” businesses should be on high alert for ransomware attacks. The alert reads, in part, as follows: “Since January 2019, LockerGoga ransomware has targeted large corporations and organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Norway, and the Netherlands. The MegaCortex ransomware, first identified in May 2019, […]
January 6, 2020 by Vertical Axion
As 2019 draws to a close, we can say definitively that the year has been another record-breaking one where data breaches are concerned. Hackers around the world have been busy in recent weeks, with a trio of high-profile breaches making headlines. In late November, one of China’s largest manufacturers of smartphones (OnePlus) reported that an […]
January 3, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Have you downloaded the NVIDIA GeForce Experience (GFE) app? It’s a helper app designed to work in tandem with GeForce GTX graphics cards. It is designed to automate the process of keeping your drivers up to date and automatically optimize your game settings. If it’s something you rely on, you should be aware that NVIDIA […]
January 2, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Do you still have a few machines in your company that are running Windows 7? If so, be aware that Microsoft is formally ending Windows 7 support in a matter of weeks. January 14, 2020 is the end of the line. After that, you will have the option to pay for extended security updates for […]
January 1, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Things aren’t so easy in the Big Easy right now. The city of New Orleans has suffered a ransomware attack. As a result, most of the city’s servers and computers are currently down. However, at a recent press conference held by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, all New Orleans emergency services are intact. The city’s CIO, Kim […]
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 […]
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. […]
