Category Archives: thailand

Russian charged with stealing $1.5 million in hacks on U.S. tax preparers

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U.S. authorities have charged a Russian citizen in a scam that netted $1.5 million through bogus tax returns between June 2014 and November 2016, the Department of Justice announced Monday. Anton Bogdanov — who went by “Kusok,” according to court documents — is accused of computer intrusion, aggravated identity theft and other wrongdoing as part of his alleged role in a plot to combine hacking with traditional fraud techniques to steal money from the U.S. government. Bogdanov and others leveraged access to hacked computers at private U.S. tax preparation firms to steal individuals’ personal information, exploiting a vulnerability in an unnamed remote access program used by accountants to log in from home and while traveling, according to the indictment. They allegedly would use that access to change the information on victims’ tax returns, and redirect their refunds to debit cards under the thieves’ control, according to the Justice Department. Those debit cards […]

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Seasteading Bitcoin Fans Say They’re ‘On the Run’ From Thai Government

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The ‘first seasteaders’ wanted a new life free from national laws, now they say they’re on the run after reports of criminal charges related to their waterborne structure. Continue reading Seasteading Bitcoin Fans Say They’re ‘On the Run’ From Thai Government→

Cyberattack at med-tech conglomerate Hoya slowed production at Thai factory by 60 percent

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Japanese manufacturer Hoya temporarily shut down production at a factory in Thailand in February following a cyberattack, the company said. Roughly 100 computers were infected with malicious software that stole user credentials, then tried to install a program that would co-opt those machines into mining for cryptocurrency. The company detected the attack before the cryptojacking software took hold, though the initial stage of the attack caused output to drop by 60 percent, Hoya said Saturday. The news first was reported by local outlets including Kyodo News and The Japan Times. Hoya had yet to completely recover from the attack by the end of March, though one executive the attack would have “little” impact on business, according to The Japan Times. Reports have not specified what type of cryptocurrency the attackers were mining. Tokyo-based Hoya produces lenses, imaging devices, medical equipment and other technology. It has a $21.6 billion market capitalization, according to Forbes, […]

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Dark Web: US court seizes assets and properties of deceased AlphaBay operator

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By Waqas
AlphaBay was one of the largest dark web marketplaces – In 2017, its admin Alexandre Cazes committed suicide in a Thai prison. The Fresno Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has finally concluded a … Continue reading Dark Web: US court seizes assets and properties of deceased AlphaBay operator→

Ethiopia using Israeli spyware to spy on dissidents, journalists

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The Ethiopian government targeted dissidents around the world with spyware developed by the Israeli firm Cyberbit, according to the Toronto-based research institute The Citizen Lab. Dissidents in the United States, United Kingdom and approximately 20 total countries are targeted with phishing emails containing spyware pretending to be Adobe Flash updates and PDF plugins. Targets included Ethiopian media, a lawyer and a PhD student. A Citizen Lab researcher, Bill Marczak, was also targeted during the course of the investigation. Cyberbit, a subsidiary of the publicly traded company Elbit Systems, markets their wares at all the major offensive hacking industry conferences including ISS World and Milipol. Researchers found a public log file on the spyware’s infrastructure suggesting the company’s other clients include Thailand, Zambia and the Philippines. “Our analysis of the spyware indicates it is a product known as PC Surveillance System, a commercial spyware product… offered by Cyberbit — an Israel-based cyber security company that is a […]

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