Seniors: How to Keep Your Retirement Safe from Online Scams
The growing number of internet crimes targeting senior adults is mind-blowing. In 2021, more than 92,000 people over the age of 60 reported losses of $1.7 billion, according to IC3, the FBI’s Internet Crime division. That number reflects a 74 percent increase in losses from 2020. These numbers tell us a few things. They tell […] more…How An Entire Nation Became Russia’s Test Lab for Cyberwar
The clocks read zero when the lights went out. It was a Saturday night last December, and Oleksii Yasinsky was sitting on the couch with his wife and teenage son in the living room of their Kiev apartment. The 40-year-old Ukrainian cybersecurity researcher and his family were an hour into Oliver Stone’s film Snowden when […] more…Tired of memorizing passwords? A Turing Award winner came up with this algorithmic trick
Passwords are a bane of life on the Internet, but one Turing Award winner has an algorithmic approach that he thinks can make them not only easier to manage but also more secure. The average user has some 20 passwords today, and in general the easier they are to remember, the less secure they are. When […] more…Cryptolocker scambles US law firm’s entire cache of legal files
A small US law firm has bravely admitted losing its entire cache of legal documents to the Cryptolocker Trojan despite attempting to pay the $300 (£180) ransom in a bid to have them unscrambled. According to TV reports, Goodson’s law firm in the North Carolina state capital Charlotte became the latest victim of a malware […] more…‘Cameyo by Google’ launches with Chrome Enterprise integration, Gemini AI support
A year after its acquisition of Cameyo, Google is making the virtual application delivery platform generally available and integrating it with Chrome Enterprise. Cameyo’s virtualization technology enables business to access “legacy” Windows applications —from ERP tools to AutoCAD or Excel — a major limitation for Chromebooks in the workplace. It differs from traditional virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) tools by delivering just the individual app a user requires, Google said; the app […] more…Uncovering a Colombian Malware Campaign with AI Code Analysis
VirusTotal Code Insight keeps adding new file formats. This time, we’re looking at two vector-based formats from very different eras: SWF and SVG. Curiously, right after we rolled out this update in production, one of the very first submitted files gave us a perfect, and unexpected, example of Code Insight in action: it uncovered an […] more…A Scam in the Family—How a Close Relative Lost $100,000 to an Elder Scam
Written by James Schmidt Editor’s Note: We often speak of online scams in our blogs, ones that cost victims hundreds if not thousands of dollars. This account puts a face on one of those scams—along with the personal, financial, and emotional pain that they can leave in their wake. This is the story of “Meredith,” […] more…‘Tis the Season for Holiday Scams
This time of year, the air not only gets chillier but a bit cheerier for everyone … including online scammers. Holiday scams are a quick way to make a buck, and cybercriminals employ several holiday-themed schemes to weasel money and personally identifiable information (PII) from gift givers. Here are three common holiday scams to watch […] more…Recent GootLoader Campaign Targets Law, Accounting Firms
A recently observed GootLoader campaign has been focusing on infecting the devices of legal and accounting company employees with malware, eSentire reports. read more more…WIRTE’s campaign in the Middle East ‘living off the land’ since at least 2019
Overview This February, during our hunting efforts for threat actors using VBS/VBA implants, we came across MS Excel droppers that use hidden spreadsheets and VBA macros to drop their first stage implant. The implant itself is a VBS script with functionality to collect system information and execute arbitrary code sent by the attackers on the […] more…McAfee Security Alert: Protect Your Smart Cameras and Wi-Fi Baby Monitors
An important alert for anyone who uses smart cameras, Wi-Fi baby monitors, and other connected devices that send audio or video over the internet: a recent security advisory indicates millions of these devices may be at risk of remote monitoring or attack. The root of the concern is an apparent vulnerability in the Software Development Kit (“SDK”) used with the ThroughTek Kalay network. Millions of smart devices use Kalay and its protocols […] more…Eight suspects busted in raid on “home delivery” scamming operation
Some victims of home delivery scams end up with their entire bank accounts drained. Don’t get caught out! more…How to Spot, and Prevent, the Tax Scams That Target Elders
How to Spot, and Prevent, the Tax Scams That Target Elders Elder scams cost seniors in the U.S. some $3 billion annually. And tax season adds a healthy sum to that appalling figure. What makes seniors such a prime target for tax scams? The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states several factors. For one, elders […] more…Two Dozen Arrested for Laundering Funds From BEC, Other Scams
Twenty-four individuals were arrested for laundering funds illegally obtained via business email compromise (BEC), romance, and retirement account scams targeting victims across the United States. The large-scale fraud operation facilitated by the arrested individuals has caused losses of more than $30 million, the Department of Justice has revealed. read more more…2016 Again? Russia Back to Stirring Chaos in U.S. Election
Just weeks into this year’s election cycle, Russia already is actively interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign in hopes of reelecting President Donald Trump, and is also trying to help the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side, intelligence officials have concluded. read more more…Dridex Employs Polymorphism in Recent Campaign
A recent campaign featuring the Dridex banking Trojan has shown extensive use of randomly generated variables and URL directories, eSentire’s security researchers reveal. read more more…More information
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