Palo Alto Networks

July 16, 2018

‘LuminosityLink RAT’ Author Pleads Guilty

This post was originally published on this siteA 21-year-old Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to authoring and distributing a popular hacking tool called “LuminosityLink,” a malware strain that security experts say was used by thousands of customers to gain unauthorized access to tens of thousands of computers across 78 countries worldwide. The LuminosityLink Remote Access Tool (RAT) was sold for $40 to thousands of customers, who used the tool to gain unauthorized access to tens of thousands of computers worldwide. Federal prosecutors say Colton Ray Grubbs of Stanford, Ky. conspired with others to market and distribute the LuminosityLink RAT, a $40 Remote […]
March 20, 2020

Zxyel Flaw Powers New Mirai IoT Botnet Strain

This post was originally published on this siteIn February, hardware maker Zyxel fixed a zero-day vulnerability in its routers and VPN firewall products after KrebsOnSecurity told the company the flaw was being abused by attackers to break into devices. This week, security researchers said they spotted that same vulnerability being exploited by a new variant of Mirai, a malware strain that targets vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices for use in large-scale attacks and as proxies for other cybercrime activity. Security experts at Palo Alto Networks said Thursday their sensors detected the new Mirai variant — dubbed Mukashi — on […]
March 2, 2022

Conti Ransomware Group Diaries, Part II: The Office

This post was originally published on this siteEarlier this week, a Ukrainian security researcher leaked almost two years’ worth of internal chat logs from Conti, one of the more rapacious and ruthless ransomware gangs in operation today. Tuesday’s story examined how Conti dealt with its own internal breaches and attacks from private security firms and governments. In Part II of this series we’ll explore what it’s like to work for Conti, as described by the Conti employees themselves. The Conti group’s chats reveal a great deal about the internal structure and hierarchy of the ransomware organization. Conti maintains many of […]
March 29, 2022

Hackers Gaining Power of Subpoena Via Fake “Emergency Data Requests”

This post was originally published on this siteThere is a terrifying and highly effective “method” that criminal hackers are now using to harvest sensitive customer data from Internet service providers, phone companies and social media firms. It involves compromising email accounts and websites tied to police departments and government agencies, and then sending unauthorized demands for subscriber data while claiming the information being requested can’t wait for a court order because it relates to an urgent matter of life and death. In the United States, when federal, state or local law enforcement agencies wish to obtain information about who owns […]