A 36-year-old Russian man recently identified by KrebsOnSecurity as the likely proprietor of the massive RSOCKS botnet has been arrested in Bulgaria at the request of U.S. authorities. At a court hearing in Bulgaria this month, the accused hacker requested and was granted extradition to the United S...
SIM Swapper Abducted, Beaten, Held for $200k Ransom
A Florida teenager who served as a lackey for a cybercriminal group that specializes in cryptocurrency thefts was beaten and kidnapped last week by a rival cybercrime gang. The teen’s captives held guns to his head while forcing him to record a video message pleading with his crew to fork over a $20...
Botched Crypto Mugging Lands Three U.K. Men in Jail
Three men in the United Kingdom were arrested this month for attempting to assault a local man and steal his virtual currencies. The incident is the latest example of how certain cybercriminal communities are increasingly turning to physical violence to settle scores and disputes. Shortly after 11 p...
Say Hello to Crazy Thin ‘Deep Insert’ ATM Skimmers
A number of financial institutions in and around New York City are dealing with a rash of super-thin “deep insert” skimming devices designed to fit inside the mouth of an ATM’s card acceptance slot. The card skimmers are paired with tiny pinhole cameras that are cleverly disguised as part of the cas...
Wormable Flaw, 0days Lead Sept. 2022 Patch Tuesday
This month’s Patch Tuesday offers a little something for everyone, including security updates for a zero-day flaw in Microsoft Windows that is under active attack, and another Windows weakness experts say could be used to power a fast-spreading computer worm. Also, Apple has also quashed a pair of z...
Transacting in Person with Strangers from the Internet
Communities like Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace and others are great for finding low- or no-cost stuff that one can pick up directly from a nearby seller, and for getting rid of useful things that don’t deserve to end up in a landfill. But when dealing with strangers from the Internet, th...
Violence-as-a-Service: Brickings, Firebombings & Shootings for Hire
A 21-year-old New Jersey man has been arrested and charged with stalking in connection with a federal investigation into groups of cybercriminals who are settling scores by hiring people to carry out physical attacks on their rivals. Prosecutors say the defendant recently participated in several of ...
Final Thoughts on Ubiquiti
Last year, I posted a series of articles about a purported “breach” at Ubiquiti. My sole source for that reporting was the person who has since been indicted by federal prosecutors for his alleged wrongdoing – which includes providing false information to the press. As a result of the new informatio...
How 1-Time Passcodes Became a Corporate Liability
Phishers are enjoying remarkable success using text messages to steal remote access credentials and one-time passcodes from employees at some of the world’s largest technology companies and customer support firms. A recent spate of SMS phishing attacks from one cybercriminal group has spawned a flur...
PayPal Phishing Scam Uses Invoices Sent Via PayPal
Scammers are using invoices sent through PayPal.com to trick recipients into calling a number to dispute a pending charge. The missives — which come from Paypal.com and include a link at Paypal.com that displays an invoice for the supposed transaction — state that the user’s account is about to be c...
When Efforts to Contain a Data Breach Backfire
Earlier this month, the administrator of the cybercrime forum Breached received a cease-and-desist letter from a cybersecurity firm. The missive alleged that an auction on the site for data stolen from 10 million customers of Mexico’s second-largest bank was fake news and harming the bank’s reputati...
Sounding the Alarm on Emergency Alert System Flaws
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is urging states and localities to beef up security around proprietary devices that connect to the Emergency Alert System — a national public warning system used to deliver important emergency information, such as severe weather and AMBER alerts. The DHS war...
It Might Be Our Data, But It’s Not Our Breach
Image: Shutterstock. A cybersecurity firm says it has intercepted a large, unique stolen data set containing the names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security Numbers and dates of birth on nearly 23 million Americans. The firm’s analysis of the data suggests it corresponds to cur...
The Security Pros and Cons of Using Email Aliases
One way to tame your email inbox is to get in the habit of using unique email aliases when signing up for new accounts online. Adding a “+” character after the username portion of your email address — followed by a notation specific to the site you’re signing up at — lets you create an infinite numb...
Microsoft Patch Tuesday, August 2022 Edition
Microsoft today released updates to fix a record 141 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and related software. Once again, Microsoft is patching a zero-day vulnerability in the Microsoft Support Diagnostics Tool (MSDT), a service built into Windows. Redmond also addressed multi...
Class Action Targets Experian Over Account Security
A class action lawsuit has been filed against big-three consumer credit bureau Experian over reports that the company did little to prevent identity thieves from hijacking consumer accounts. The legal filing cites liberally from an investigation KrebsOnSecurity published in July, which found that id...
Scammers Sent Uber to Take Elderly Lady to the Bank
Email scammers sent an Uber to the home of an 80-year-old woman who responded to a well-timed email scam, in a bid to make sure she went to the bank and wired money to the fraudsters. In this case, the woman figured out she was being scammed before embarking for the bank, but her story is a chillin...
No SOCKS, No Shoes, No Malware Proxy Services!
With the recent demise of several popular “proxy” services that let cybercriminals route their malicious traffic through hacked PCs, there is now something of a supply chain crisis gripping the underbelly of the Internet. Compounding the problem, several remaining malware-based proxy services have c...
911 Proxy Service Implodes After Disclosing Breach
The 911 service as it existed until July 28, 2022. 911[.]re, a proxy service that since 2015 has sold access to hundreds of thousands of Microsoft Windows computers daily, announced this week that it is shutting down in the wake of a data breach that destroyed key components of its business operatio...
Breach Exposes Users of Microleaves Proxy Service
Microleaves, a ten-year-old proxy service that lets customers route their web traffic through millions of Microsoft Windows computers, recently fixed a vulnerability in their website that exposed their entire user database. Microleaves claims its proxy software is installed with user consent, but da...
A Retrospective on the 2015 Ashley Madison Breach
It’s been seven years since the online cheating site AshleyMadison.com was hacked and highly sensitive data about its users posted online. The leak led to the public shaming and extortion of many Ashley Madison users, and to at least two suicides. To date, little is publicly known about the perpetra...
Massive Losses Define Epidemic of ‘Pig Butchering’
U.S. state and federal investigators are being inundated with reports from people who’ve lost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in connection with a complex investment scam known as “pig butchering,” wherein people are lured by flirtatious strangers online into investing in cryptocurrency...
A Deep Dive Into the Residential Proxy Service ‘911’
The 911 service as it exists today. For the past seven years, an online service known as 911 has sold access to hundreds of thousands of Microsoft Windows computers daily, allowing customers to route their Internet traffic through PCs in virtually any country or city around the globe — but predomina...
Why 8kun Went Offline During the January 6 Hearings
The latest Jan. 6 committee hearing on Tuesday examined the role of conspiracy theory communities like 8kun[.]top and TheDonald[.]win in helping to organize and galvanize supporters who responded to former President Trump’s invitation to “be wild” in Washington, D.C. on that chaotic day. At the same...
10 Important Things to Consider Before Getting a Puppy
Getting a puppy is a huge commitment you are taking on as an individual and as a caregiver to a dependent creature. It can be hard to resist those pleading eyes and soft furry bellies at the pet store or shelter, but it’s important that you do not decide on adopting a dog spontaneously. You will not...
Bsign – the best online store of modern door numbers
Looking for the best modern door numbers and plaques? If yes, you should explore the assortment and services of Bsign. This is the best place where you can order unique signs for your house, apartment, office, hotel, or any other facility. Bsign (https://bsign-store.com) offers something more than j...
Working with a Concrete Contractor: What’s the inclusion?
The first thing you should know about working with a concrete contractor is that the scope of your project will dictate the inclusion. A concrete contractor can certainly help you with pre-construction services, such as surveying, estimating, and project management. However, if you’re building a sma...
Microsoft Patch Tuesday, July 2022 Edition
Microsoft today released updates to fix at least 86 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and other software, including a weakness in all supported versions of Windows that Microsoft warns is actively being exploited. The software giant also has made a controversial decision to p...
Can you make your small home look bigger? Read this!
Are you planning to redecorate and remodel your small house but want to make it look bigger? If yes, you are on the correct page. Small houses have a different kind of vibe. They are compact, comfortable, and give a very warm feel. Some places do not allow the construction and renovation area to exp...
5 Ways To Give Your Home A Modernized Look
Modern home designs are a significant trend in current interior design, from muted color palettes to statement pieces and minimalist decorations. Modernizing your home is an excellent opportunity to change how your home looks and feels while combining the latest smart appliances and gadgets. If you ...