Author Archives: Graham Cluley

Big news in the anti-virus industry. Avast to acquire AVG for $1.3 billion

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Two of Europe’s most famous anti-virus companies, famous for their free product editions and founded in what was at the time Czechoslovakia, are looking to become one.

How much money is on the table from Avast to acquire AVG? A tidy $1.3 billion.

Here is what Avast CEO Vince Steckler has to say:

“Under an agreement signed with AVG, Avast will be making an offer ($25 per share or about $1.3 billion in total) to buy all shares of AVG’s stock which AVG’s board is recommending their shareholders accept. If the AVG shareholders do accept, following the various governmental regulators approvals, AVG will become part of Avast and we will jointly work on a great future together. We expect this to take a few months.”

…

“I do think this combination is great for our users. We will have over 250 million PC/Mac users enabling us to gather even more threat data to improve the protection to our users. In mobile, our combined 160 million mobile users will be used to improve protection as well as to provide an important stepping stone into the Internet of things. Additionally, we will be gaining some exciting mobile technology designed to protect families on line. In SMB, we will be better able to support our business users with a larger geographic footprint, better technical support, and the best technologies from our two companies.”

When those early pioneers started writing anti-virus software in their back bedrooms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they can never have imagined things would grow so big.

Read Avast’s corporate press release here.

Continue reading Big news in the anti-virus industry. Avast to acquire AVG for $1.3 billion→

Android users warned of HummingBad malware, as millions of devices infected

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Checkpoint researchers report that a cybercrime gang called Yingmob is using the HummingBad malware to exploit millions of Android devices around the world:
Yingmob uses HummingBad to control 10 million devices globally and generate $300,000 per month … Continue reading Android users warned of HummingBad malware, as millions of devices infected→

Could your selfies be held to ransom? Alleged Instagram account hacker arrested

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The incredibly cool-sounding Titan, the North West of England’s regional organised crime unit, have arrested a 16-year-old boy from Croxteth, Liverpool, on suspicion of hacking an Instagram account.

The Liverpool Echo quotes Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Green, the head of Titan:

“Our on-going enquiry centres on the alleged blackmailing of someone in another part of the country whose Instagram account, with many thousands of followers, was hacked and taken control of by someone else.”

“The victim then received messages from the offender asking for a ransom to be paid in return for access to their Instagram account being given back.”

“Another allegation is possibly related is the hacking of someone’s online shopping account whereby goods were re-directed to another person’s address.”

Computer equipment has been seized by law enforcement officers and will be examined by digital forensics experts.

It’s clear to me that this is just more evidence that 2016 is becoming the year of online extortion – online attackers are recognising that there is money to be made through extortion, whether it be demanding a ransom to be paid for the safe return of data, the suspension of a DDoS attack against a website, or the recovery of a social media account.

Past victims of Instagram hackers have included artist Rachel Ryle, who had her account hijacked by a spammer and lost 35,000 followers and a sizeable sponsorship deal as a result.

Earlier this year it was reported that Instagram was beginning to roll out some form of two-factor authentication/two-step verification to better protect users’ accounts.

As Instagram’s parent company Facebook does provide two-step verification (in the form of Login Approvals) one would hope that the wind is blowing in the right direction…

However, I have not been able to confirm that the security feature is available to the Instagram masses yet. If you have more details on whether Instagram users can enable 2FA or 2SV yet, please leave a comment.

Continue reading Could your selfies be held to ransom? Alleged Instagram account hacker arrested→

Get FREE threat intelligence on hackers and exploits with the Recorded Future Cyber Daily

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Get trending info on hackers, exploits, and vulnerabilities every day for FREE with the Recorded Future Cyber Daily [Sponsor]

Graham Cluley Security News is sponsored this week by the folks at Recorded Future. Thanks to the great team there for their support!

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“I look forward to the Cyber Daily update email every morning to start my day. It’s timely and exact, with a quick overview of emerging threats and vulnerabilities. For organizations looking to strengthen their security program with threat intelligence, Recorded Future’s Cyber Daily is the perfect first step that helps to prioritize security actions.” – Tom Doyle, CIO at EBI Consulting.

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If you’re interested in exclusively sponsoring my site for a week, and reaching an IT-savvy audience that cares about computer security, you can find more information here.

Continue reading Get FREE threat intelligence on hackers and exploits with the Recorded Future Cyber Daily→