This past week, the Australian telecoms company Optus is coming under fire for a breach of customer data. Optus’ initial press release regarding this breach went out on 21 September 2022, informing customers that services were not affected and that they were investigating a possible breach [1]. Optus has subsequently release further updates, including informing customers that they will be contacted if their data was compromised. In addition, Optus will be offering the Equifax Protect servi
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a Private Industry Notification warning of malicious cyber actors using proxies and configurations for credential stuffing attacks on organizations within the United States.
See: https://www.ic3.gov/Media/News/2022/220818.pdf
Credential stuffing is a form of brute force attack and shares many of the same commonalities that exploit leaked user credentials or ones purchased on the Dark Web that takes advantage of the fact that many individua
The US Department of Treasury placed sanctions on 08 August 2022 regarding Tornado Cash, a leading "crypto mixer" for transactions in virtual currency that US officials describe as a hub for laundering stolen funds, including by North Korean hackers. The Treasury Department reported Tornado Cash had been used to transfer at least $96 million of funds stolen in June from crypto exchange service Harmony Bridge and another $7.8 million of the nearly $200 million in cryptocurrency hacked from Noma
With criminals beginning to use deepfake video technology[1] to spoof an identity in live online job interviews, security researchers have highlighted one simple way to spot a deepfake: just ask the person to turn their face sideways. The reason for this as a potential handy authentication check is that deepfake AI models, while good at recreating front-on views of a person's face are not adequate for presenting side-on or profile views like those seen in a mug shot.
Camera apps have become inc
Network credentials and virtual private network (VPN) access for colleges and universities based in the US are being advertised for sale on underground and public criminal marketplaces. "This exposure of sensitive credential and network access information, especially privileged user accounts, could lead to subsequent cyber-attacks against individual users or affiliated organizations," the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in an advisory published last week. See: https://www.ic3.gov
Three people were handed years-long sentences in federal court on Wednesday for a range of crimes connected to a widespread hacking and identity theft campaign. Alessandro Doreus, Jean Elie Doreus Jovin and Djouman Doreus pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and aggravated identity theft in September 2021. Prosecutors said they defrauded hundreds of people from 2015 to 2020 by gaining access to Social Security numbers, account numbers, usernames and passwords.
A US District Judge gave
The US government is sounding the alarm after discovering new custom tools capable of full system compromise and disruption of ICS/SCADA devices and servers. Investigators reported that a custom-made, modular ICS attack framework can be used to disrupt and/or destruct devices in industrial environments.
A joint advisory from the Department of Energy, CISA, NSA, and the FBI warned that unidentified APT actors have created specialized tools capable of causing major damage to PLCs from Schneider El
In the US, the FBI has issued an alert about the RagnarLocker ransomware group targeting at least 52 entities across 10 critical infrastructure sectors. The FBI recently released a flash alert, warning users and organizations in the US to remain vigilant about the RagnarLocker ransomware group's growing footprint. "As of January, the FBI has identified at least 52 entities across 10 critical infrastructure sectors affected by RagnarLocker ransomware, including entities in the critical manufact
The FBI has seized 39.9 bitcoins from an alleged affiliate of the notorious REvil ransomware group, which has been tied to illicit profits of more than $200 million. The seizure occurred 03 August 2021 and was reported on 30 November 2021 in a complaint for forfeiture filed by acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, backed by FBI Special Agent Joshua Jacobs. It says the funds were seized from an Exodus wallet, which refers to a piece of
Link to full report: IR-21-323-001_weekly323.pdf
There was an old 60’s movie called, The Spy who came in from the Cold. Well the FBI could be sidelined in new cybersecurity legislation and left out in the cyber security cold. In the view of America’s most powerful law enforcement agency, that could be a big problem.
In testimony to the US Congress, the current assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, said that the Biden administration is “troubled” by legislation proposed by the US Senate and House Homeland Security committees requiri
Federal law enforcement officials announced on 26 October 2021 that a wide-ranging, global illicit drug crackdown yielded 150 arrests and the seizure of more than $31.6 million in cash and virtual currencies. The 10-month law enforcement initiative called Operation Dark HunTOR, after the encrypted Internet tool, was conducted in partnership with international counterparts. The operation produced 234 kilograms (500 lbs.) of seized drugs. Of those arrested, 65 were in the US and the remaining w
Several top US federal agencies on 14 October 2021 issued a joint advisory around potential cyber threats to the nation's water facilities.
Officials cite "ongoing malicious cyber activity by cyber threat actors targeting the information technology and operational technology networks, systems and devices" of US water and wastewater systems.
See: https://redskyalliance.org/xindustry/water-is-worth-fighting-for
The advisory co-authored by the FBI, Cybersecurity, and Infrastructure Security Agenc
The US head of the US National Security Agency (NSA), Cyber Command says the US will continue to battle ransomware for many years into the future. Some of the highest-ranking cybersecurity officials in the US government discussed the pervasive threat of ransomware on 05 October 2021, comparing it to an issue of national security with the ability to inflict measurable damage on major world powers.
Speaking at security firm Mandiant's Cyber Defense Summit, the deputy national security adviser for
“Oh Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?” The FBI is warning the public that a massive spike of online romance scams this year caused many Americans to lose more than $113 million since the start of 2021. The scammers behind this type of online fraud trend (also known as confidence fraud) which can lead to significant financial losses and devastating emotional scars use fake online identities to gain potential victims' trust on dating or social media platforms.
After the victims are lured in
What if three disgruntled employees left your organization and took top secret information to a competing company? What repercussions would follow and how would it impact your business? In many cases, there would be a lawsuit. In this case, there was federal prosecution and a cybersecurity threat.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a shocking statement on 16 September 2021, which explains the scenario at the federal level. Three men, who formerly worked for the US intelligence communi
Did you ever wonder how a can of green beans gets to the shelf of your supermarket? Well, from planting the seeds, harvesting the crop, canning the beans, and pushing them to market – is all called the ‘Food Supply Chain.’ Now cyber-attackers are targeting our food supply chain and the Jolly Green Giant ain’t so happy.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a new alert on 06 September 2021 warning companies in the food and agricultural sector that they are increasingly at risk
Post offices in the US still post the FBI’s Most Wanted List. The wanted criminal profiles are normally in a locked glass case somewhere in the lobby. A looked at the photos and associated descriptions, it is amazing that even in our digital world -criminals can still commit major crimes and still lurk without leaving a digital sign for authorities to follow. But cyber criminality is here and now and pose a huge threat to everyone, in any country. Now the US Secret Service is asking for our
The US has seized the domains of 36 websites linked with Iran and Iraq for allegedly publishing disinformation and running malicious influencing campaigns targeting Americans, the Justice Department says. Thirty-three of the websites belong to the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union, or IRTVU, and three belong to Kata’ib Hizballah, or KH, a paramilitary group based in Iraq. KH has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization since 2009, and IRTVU was put under sanctions in Octobe
The US federal authorities will soon begin sharing hashes of compromised passwords found in the course of its cybercrime investigations with Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), the data breach notification service. The password hashes will contribute to Pwned Passwords, a service used to help warn users against reusing passwords that have been leaked in data breaches, says Troy Hunt, the Australian developer who created Have I Been Pwned
The stolen and leaked data the FBI comes across in investigations,
