Author Archives: BrianKrebs

‘BlueLeaks’ Exposes Files from Hundreds of Police Departments

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Hundreds of thousands of potentially sensitive files from police departments across the United States were leaked online last week. The collection, dubbed “BlueLeaks” and made searchable via a new website by the same name, stems from a security breach at a Texas web design and hosting company that maintains a number of state law enforcement data-sharing portals online. Continue reading ‘BlueLeaks’ Exposes Files from Hundreds of Police Departments→

Turn on MFA Before Crooks Do It For You

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Hundreds of popular websites now offer some form of multi-factor authentication (MFA), which can help users safeguard access to accounts when their password is breached or stolen. But people who don’t take advantage of these added safeguards may find it far more difficult to regain access when their account gets hacked, because increasingly thieves will enable multi-factor options and tie the account to a device they control. Here’s the story of one such incident. Continue reading Turn on MFA Before Crooks Do It For You→

FEMA IT Specialist Charged in ID Theft, Tax Refund Fraud Conspiracy

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An information technology specialist at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was arrested this week on suspicion of hacking into the human resource databases of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in 2014, stealing personal data on more than 65,000 UPMC employees, and selling the data on the dark web. Continue reading FEMA IT Specialist Charged in ID Theft, Tax Refund Fraud Conspiracy→

When Security Takes a Backseat to Productivity

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“We must care as much about securing our systems as we care about running them if we are to make the necessary revolutionary change.” -CIA’s Wikileaks Task Force.

So ends a key section of a report the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency produced in the wake of a mammoth data breach in 2016 that led to Wikileaks publishing thousands of classified documents stolen from the agency’s offensive cyber operations division. The analysis highlights a shocking series of security failures at one of the world’s most secretive organizations, but the underlying weaknesses that gave rise to the breach also unfortunately are all too common in many organizations today. Continue reading When Security Takes a Backseat to Productivity→

Privnotes.com Is Phishing Bitcoin from Users of Private Messaging Service Privnote.com

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For the past year, a site called Privnotes.com has been impersonating Privnote.com, a legitimate, free service that offers private, encrypted messages which self-destruct automatically after they are read. Until recently, I couldn’t quite work out what Privnotes was up to, but today it became crystal clear: Any messages containing bitcoin addresses will be automatically altered to include a different bitcoin address, as long as the Internet addresses of the sender and receiver of the message are not the same. Continue reading Privnotes.com Is Phishing Bitcoin from Users of Private Messaging Service Privnote.com→

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, June 2020 Edition

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Microsoft today released software patches to plug at least 129 security holes in its Windows operating systems and supported software, by some accounts a record number of fixes in one go for the software giant. None of the bugs addressed this month are known to have been exploited or detailed prior to today, but there are a few vulnerabilities that deserve special attention — particularly for enterprises and employees working remotely. Continue reading Microsoft Patch Tuesday, June 2020 Edition→

Florence, Ala. Hit By Ransomware 12 Days After Being Alerted by KrebsOnSecurity

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In late May, KrebsOnSecurity alerted numerous officials in Florence, Ala. that their information technology systems had been infiltrated by hackers who specialize in deploying ransomware. Nevertheless, on Friday, June 5, the intruders sprang their attack, deploying ransomware and demanding nearly $300,000 worth of bitcoin. City officials now say they plan to pay the ransom demand, in hopes of keeping the personal data of their citizens off of the Internet. Continue reading Florence, Ala. Hit By Ransomware 12 Days After Being Alerted by KrebsOnSecurity→

Owners of DDoS-for-Hire Service vDOS Get 6 Months Community Service

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The co-owners of vDOS, a now-defunct service that for four years helped paying customers launch more than two million distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that knocked countless Internet users and websites offline, each have been sentenced to six months of community service by an Israeli court. Continue reading Owners of DDoS-for-Hire Service vDOS Get 6 Months Community Service→

Romanian Skimmer Gang in Mexico Outed by KrebsOnSecurity Stole $1.2 Billion

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An exhaustive inquiry published today by a consortium of investigative journalists says a three-part series KrebsOnSecurity published in 2015 on a Romanian ATM skimming gang operating in Mexico’s top tourist destinations disrupted their highly profitable business, which raked in an estimated $20 million a month and enjoyed the protection of top Mexican authorities. Continue reading Romanian Skimmer Gang in Mexico Outed by KrebsOnSecurity Stole $1.2 Billion→

REvil Ransomware Gang Starts Auctioning Victim Data

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The criminal group behind the REvil ransomware enterprise has begun auctioning off sensitive data stolen from companies hit by its malicious software. The move marks an escalation in tactics aimed at coercing victims to pay up — and publicly shaming those don’t. But it may also signal that ransomware purveyors are searching for new ways to profit from their crimes as victim businesses struggle just to keep the lights on during the unprecedented economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading REvil Ransomware Gang Starts Auctioning Victim Data→