Like any threat, malware evolves: Discover new trends
Cofense released the 2018 Cofense Malware Review, detailing the trends that defined malware attacks in 2017 and the emerging trends for network defenders to prioritize in 2018. While a couple of high profile breaches stole the spotlight in 2017, Cofense’s global security team uncovered a number of less visible evolutions that dramatically changed the threat…
PinkKite POS Malware Is Small but Powerful
A newly discovered piece of malware targeting point-of-sale (POS) systems has a very small size but can do a lot on the infected systems, security researchers reveal. Called PinkKite, the POS malware was observed last year as part of a large campaign that ended in December, but was only detailed last week at Kaspersky Lab’s…
Chip Cards Lead to 70% Drop in Counterfeit Fraud: Visa
The adoption of chip-and-PIN card technology by an increasing number of merchants in the United States has led to a significant drop in cases of counterfeit card fraud, according to Visa. The financial industry has been pushing for the adoption of EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) card technology in the United States since 2011, and efforts…
Cryptocurrency Fraud: In the Midst of a Gold Rush, Beware of Scammers
Bitcoin is the pioneer and obvious leader in the cryptocurrency market. But in 2017 alternative coins, or “altcoins,” began to transform the market. Nearly 1,500 cryptocurrencies are currently in circulation, and new altcoins emerge every week with Monero, Zcash and Ethereum among the top challengers to Bitcoin. But beware. Much like opportunists who devised various…
Top Experts Warn Against ‘Malicious Use’ of AI
Artificial intelligence could be deployed by dictators, criminals and terrorists to manipulate elections and use drones in terrorist attacks, more than two dozen experts said Wednesday as they sounded the alarm over misuse of the technology. In a 100-page analysis, they outlined a rapid growth in cybercrime and the use of “bots” to interfere with…
NoMoreRansom: Free Decryption for Latest Cryakl Ransomware
Decryption keys for a current version of Cryakl ransomware have been obtained and uploaded to the NoMoreRansom website. Victims of Cryakl can potentially recover encrypted files with the Rakhni Decryptor available for free from Kaspersky Lab or NoMoreRansom. NoMoreRansom is a collaborative public/private project launched by Europol, the Dutch National Police, Kaspersky Lab and McAfee in July 2016….
The Price of Cybercrime: 9 Years in One Case, 6 Months in Another
Travon Williams, 33, was sentenced by the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to 9 years in jail for his role in a credit card fraud and identity theft scheme. For more than two years, Williams led a gang that purchased thousands of stolen credit and debit card numbers from the dark web….
Six Months in Jail for University Email Hacker
A man who accessed over 1,000 email accounts maintained by a New York City-area university to download in appropriate photos and videos was sentenced to 6 months in prison this week. The man, Jonathan Powell, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, pled guilty to the charges on August 9, 2017, in Manhattan federal court before United States…
How cybercriminals abuse the travel and hospitality industry
The travel and hospitality industry suffers billions of losses each year due to fraud. “With the right combination of other underground services (compromised accounts, credit cards, etc.) it is possible to cover almost every aspect of the holidays, including food and restaurants, shopping, entertainment, guided tours and more – way beyond flights and hotels,” Vladimir…
Infosec expert viewpoint: Google Play malware
Researchers routinely discover a variety of malicious apps on Google Play, some of which have been downloaded and installed on millions of devices worldwide. Here’s what infosec experts think about the security of Google Play, what they think Google should do better, and what users can do in order to protect themselves from malicious apps…