Banking-focused phishing scheme hits inboxes in wake of Equifax breach

A group of hackers has been sending specially tailored phishing emails to online banking customers, stoking fears among an online population that is increasingly concerned with how cybercriminals could leverage the data stolen from credit monitoring giant Equifax. This specific phishing campaign, identified by U.S. technology firm Barracuda Networks, focuses on a string of recent banking-related emails that began to hit inboxes shortly after Equifax was originally breached, but several weeks before the incident was first publicly disclosed Sept. 7. The campaign remains active. Although the scheme’s timing has caught researchers’ attention, it remains unclear whether the criminal operation was directly related to the Equifax breach. Security experts have warned that the Equifax breach could lead to fraudulent credit card charges for affected individuals. As a result, it’s no surprise that hackers are actively attempting to impersonate legitimate banking companies as they communicate with clients about suspicious account activity. Barracuda […]

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Manufacturing companies got wrecked by cyber-spies last year, Verizon report says

Cyber-spies backed by nation-states were behind a majority of data breaches experienced by manufacturing companies in 2016, according to Verizon’s newly published 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report. Verizon identified 620 data breach incidents in the manufacturing sector last year — of which 94 percent could be defined as “espionage” driven and attributable to “state-affiliated” actors. Roughly 91 percent of material stolen in these breaches had been categorized as “secret,” relating to proprietary information owned solely by the victim. Cybersecurity experts say hackers largely target the manufacturing industry in order to steal trade secrets, business plans and valuable intellectual property. Verizon defines cyber-espionage as incidents that include “unauthorized network or system access linked to state-affiliated actors and/or exhibiting the motive of espionage.” “When you make stuff, there is always someone else who wants to make it better, or at least cheaper. A great way to make something cheaper is to let […]

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Easy-Peasy Heart Monitor

If you’re at all into medical hacks, you’ve doubtless noticed that the medical industry provides us with all manner of shiny toys to play with. Case in point is a heart-monitoring IC that’s so brand new, it’s not even available in all of the usual distributors yet. [Ashwin], who runs a small prototyping-supplies company, ProtoCentral, has been playing around with the new MAX30003 ECG chip, and the results look great.

The punchline is that the four-to-five dollar chip does everything for you, including analog filtering, wander removal, and even detecting the pulse rate. Using the chip is simple: you plug …read more

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Easy-Peasy Heart Monitor

If you’re at all into medical hacks, you’ve doubtless noticed that the medical industry provides us with all manner of shiny toys to play with. Case in point is a heart-monitoring IC that’s so brand new, it’s not even available in all of the usual distributors yet. [Ashwin], who runs a small prototyping-supplies company, ProtoCentral, has been playing around with the new MAX30003 ECG chip, and the results look great.

The punchline is that the four-to-five dollar chip does everything for you, including analog filtering, wander removal, and even detecting the pulse rate. Using the chip is simple: you plug …read more

Continue reading Easy-Peasy Heart Monitor

Shamoon 2.0 and StoneDrill are separate campaigns, but target the same country

The complex, destructive cyberattacks launched against Saudi Arabian businesses and government organizations in recent months are likely coming from at least two separate groups with aligned interests, according to a group of cybersecurity intelligence and research professionals. Based on newly released forensic evidence unearthed by Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team, data destroying malware known respectively as Shamoon 2.0 and StoneDrill has been located in computers stationed in Saudi Arabia. Beginning in Nov. 2016, researchers say there’s been three different “waves” of Shamoon 2.0 hitting computers in Saudi Arabia — executed twice in November and most recently on Jan. 23. According to the Saudi National Cyber Security Center, Shamoon 2.0 has so far infected 11 organizations. Multiple reports attribute Shamoon 2.0 to Iranian government hackers, though Kaspersky Lab does not provide attribution. “The Iranian attacks are probably a consequence of their incredibly strained relations,” said John Hultquist, iSight’s director of espionage analysis. “Tensions rose from a stampede which […]

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