Krebs – Page 83 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2018 18:28:30 +0000

Peter Yuryevich Levashov, a 37-year-old Russian computer programmer thought to be one of the world’s most notorious spam kingpins, has been extradited to the United States to face federal hacking and spamming charges. Levashov, who allegedly went by the hacker name “Peter Severa,” or “Peter of the North,” hails from St. Petersburg in northern Russia, but he was arrested last year while in Barcelona, Spain with his family. Authorities have long suspected he is the cybercriminal behind the once powerful spam botnet known as Waledac (a.k.a. “Kelihos”), a now-defunct malware strain responsible for sending more than 1.5 billion spam, phishing and malware attacks each day.

Independent Krebs

February 2, 2018 admin

Attackers Exploiting Unpatched Flaw in Flash

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:21:06 +0000

Adobe warned on Thursday that attackers are exploiting a previously unknown security hole in its Flash Player software to break into Microsoft Windows computers. Adobe said it plans to issue a fix for the flaw in the next few days, but now might be a good time to check your exposure to this still-ubiquitous program and harden your defenses. Adobe said a critical vulnerability (CVE-2018-4878) exists in Adobe Flash Player 28.0.0.137 and earlier versions. Successful exploitation could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Independent Krebs

January 30, 2018 admin

Drugs Tripped Up Suspects In First Known ATM “Jackpotting” Attacks in the US

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2018 17:26:06 +0000

On Jan. 27, 2018, KrebsOnSecurity published what this author thought a scoop about the first known incidence of U.S. ATMs being hit with “jackpotting” attacks, a crime in which thieves deploy malware that forces cash machines to spit out money like a loose Las Vegas slot machine. As it happens, the first known jackpotting attacks in the United States were reported in November 2017 by local media on the west coast, although the reporters in those cases seem to have completely buried the lede.

Independent Krebs

January 30, 2018 admin

Drug Charges Tripped Up Suspects In First Known ATM “Jackpotting” Attacks in the US

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2018 17:26:06 +0000

Independent Krebs

January 29, 2018 admin

File Your Taxes Before Scammers Do It For You

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2018 14:44:23 +0000

Today, Jan. 29, is officially the first day of the 2018 tax-filing season, also known as the day that fraudsters start requesting phony tax refunds in the names of identity theft victims. Want to minimize the chances of getting hit by tax refund fraud this year? File your taxes before the bad guys can! Tax refund fraud affects hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of U.S. citizens annually. Victims usually first learn of the crime after having their returns rejected because scammers beat them to it. Even those who are not required to file a return can be victims of refund fraud, as can those who are not actually due a refund from the IRS.

Independent Krebs

January 27, 2018 admin

First ‘Jackpotting’ Attacks Hit U.S. ATMs

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2018 18:45:08 +0000

ATM “jackpotting” — a sophisticated crime in which thieves install malicious software and/or hardware at ATMs that forces the machines to spit out huge volumes of cash on demand — has long been a threat for banks in Europe and Asia, yet these attacks somehow have eluded U.S. ATM operators. But all that changed this week after the U.S. Secret Service quietly began warning financial institutions that jackpotting attacks have now been spotted targeting cash machines here in the United States.

Independent Krebs

January 26, 2018 admin

Registered at SSA.GOV? Good for You, But Keep Your Guard Up

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2018 19:43:29 +0000

KrebsOnSecurity has long warned readers to plant your own flag at the my Social Security online portal of the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) — even if you are not yet drawing benefits from the agency — because identity thieves have been registering accounts in peoples’ names and siphoning retirement and/or disability funds. This is the story of a Midwest couple that took all the right precautions and still got hit by ID thieves who impersonated them to the SSA directly over the phone. In mid-December 2017 this author heard from Ed Eckenstein, a longtime reader in Oklahoma whose wife Ruth had just received a snail mail letter from the SSA about successfully applying to withdraw benefits. The letter confirmed she’d requested a one-time transfer of more than $11,000 from her SSA account. The couple said they were perplexed because both previously had taken my advice and registered accounts with MySocialSecurity, even though Ruth had not yet chosen to start receiving SSA benefits.

Independent Krebs

January 24, 2018 admin

Chronicle: A Meteor Aimed At Planet Threat Intel?

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2018 22:56:52 +0000

Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, said today it is in the process of rolling out a new service designed to help companies more quickly make sense of and act on the mountains of threat data produced each day by cybersecurity tools. Countless organizations rely on a hodgepodge of security software, hardware and services to find and detect cybersecurity intrusions before an incursion by malicious software or hackers has the chance to metastasize into a full-blown data breach.