cybercriminals

Thu
15
Feb
John Lister's picture

Thousands of Sites Hit By 'Cryptojacking' Scam

Visitors to more than 5,000 websites had their computers hijacked to earn money for scammers. But the attack would have earned them less than $25 - and they aren't getting paid anyway. The attack involved compromising screen reader software called ... BrowseAloud. Websites can add the software to their site to make it easier for visitors with vision problems to browse the pages. Because the software is so widely used, compromising it was an effective way to reach a large number of computers - regardless of whether the owners needed to use a screen reader. The software is particularly popular ... (view more)

Wed
08
Apr
John Lister's picture

Experiment Tracks Spread of 'Stolen Data' Online

A security research firm says more than a thousand people accessed a dummy database of personal details that it released as an experiment, though that number is much likely higher. It says the would-be criminals acted far faster than most security ... breaches take to fix. The experiment was the work of BitGlass, a company that offers security services for cloud computing firms. The firm wanted to test how quickly a 'leaked' set of personal data would spread around the world; to do so, BitGlass made an Excel file that contained 1,568 sets of names, phone numbers, addresses, credit card ... (view more)

Tue
25
Nov
Brandon Dimmel's picture

Symantec: Regin Malware High-Level, Likely State Sponsored

Security firm Symantec says it has found a sinister and highly sophisticated piece of malware, which has somehow managed to evade security experts for more than six years. Dubbed 'Regin', the malware showcases high levels of technical competence, ... suggesting that it was likely developed by cyber espionage experts. "The development and operation of this malware would have required a significant investment of time and resources, indicating that a nation state is responsible," Symantec said in a recent white paper on the subject. "Its design makes it highly suited for persistent, ... (view more)

Tue
11
Nov
Brandon Dimmel's picture

Windows Blamed for Home Depot Hack; Execs Get Macs

The Home Depot recently revealed that its systems had been hacked, leaving approximately 56 million customer credit cards and 53 million email addresses vulnerable to cybercriminals. Now, the retailer is apparently blaming Microsoft's Windows ... operating system (OS) for its security vulnerabilities, and has reportedly switched many top-ranking employees to Macintosh computers and iPhones. The Home Depot announced additional findings of its security breach on November 6, 2014. In the days that followed, customers whose data was affected received an email from the company, which read: " ... (view more)

Mon
02
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Rising Bitcoin Value Makes CryptoLocker Crooks Rich

A new report suggests that the cybercriminals behind the now infamous CryptoLocker ransomware scam are making huge profits. The main factor driving that revenue: the rapidly rising value of bitcoins . CryptoLocker is a form of Trojan horse known as ... ransomware. After being installed on a system -- usually following the opening of a malicious email -- it takes control of a user's system. Those behind the scam then demand the victim pay up if they want to regain control of their computer. The usual ransom: between $300 and $600 in bitcoins, a relatively new type of Internet-based currency. So, ... (view more)

Tue
28
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Zeus Malware Making a Resurgence, Experts Warn

The feared Zeus Trojan is expected to make a comeback in the next six months. According to security research firm Trend Micro, many cybercriminals are returning to this form of malware as a tool for compromising website security. Zeus is by no means ... new. Its source code was originally spread across the world wide web more than two years ago, and since that time has been customized by cybercriminals. Popular variants of Zeus included 'Citadel' and 'GameOver'. Overall, Zeus (sometimes called Zbot) is one of the oldest forms of financial malware still being used by cybercriminals today. Zeus a ... (view more)

Mon
27
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Cybercriminals Buy Captcha-Codes for Pennies

Security specialists who monitor the behavior of cybercriminals are now reporting a disturbing trend among online scammers: paying "captcha-breakers" to solve random blocks of text, to supersede anti-fraud and anti-spam measures. Humans Versus ... Computer Programs Catpcha stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Captchas are most prevalent online blogs that require a user to enter a series of numbers or letters in order to post a comment online. While sometimes an inconvenience, websites and online forms that require captchas are critical ... (view more)

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