Category Archives: The Coming Storm

Experts Fear Crooks are Cracking Keys Stolen in LastPass Breach

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In November 2022, the password manager service LastPass disclosed a breach in which hackers stole password vaults containing both encrypted and plaintext data for more than 25 million users. Since then, a steady trickle of six-figure cryptocurrency heists targeting security-conscious people throughout the tech industry has led some security experts to conclude that crooks likely have succeeded at cracking open some of the stolen LastPass vaults. Continue reading Experts Fear Crooks are Cracking Keys Stolen in LastPass Breach→

Why is .US Being Used to Phish So Many of Us?

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Domain names ending in “.US” — the top-level domain for the United States — are among the most prevalent in phishing scams, new research shows. This is noteworthy because .US is overseen by the U.S. government, which is frequently the target of phishing domains ending in .US. Also, .US domains are only supposed to be available to U.S. citizens and to those who can demonstrate that they have a physical presence in the United States. Continue reading Why is .US Being Used to Phish So Many of Us?→

U.S. Hacks QakBot, Quietly Removes Botnet Infections

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The U.S. government today announced a coordinated crackdown against QakBot, a complex malware family used by multiple cybercrime groups to lay the groundwork for ransomware infections. The international law enforcement operation involved seizing control over the botnet’s online infrastructure, and quietly removing the Qakbot malware from tens of thousands of infected Microsoft Windows computer systems. Continue reading U.S. Hacks QakBot, Quietly Removes Botnet Infections→

Tourists Give Themselves Away by Looking Up. So Do Most Network Intruders.

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In large metropolitan areas, tourists are often easy to spot because they’re far more inclined than locals to gaze upward at the surrounding skyscrapers. Security experts say this same tourist dynamic is a dead giveaway in virtually all computer intrusions that lead to devastating attacks like ransomware, and that more organizations should set simple virtual tripwires that sound the alarm when authorized users and devices are spotted exhibiting this behavior. Continue reading Tourists Give Themselves Away by Looking Up. So Do Most Network Intruders.→

Meet the Brains Behind the Malware-Friendly AI Chat Service ‘WormGPT’

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WormGPT, a private new chatbot service advertised as a way to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help write malicious software without all the pesky prohibitions on such activity enforced by ChatGPT and Google Bard, has started adding restrictions on how the service can be used. Faced with customers trying to use WormGPT to create ransomware and phishing scams, the 23-year-old Portuguese programmer who created the project now says his service is slowly morphing into “a more controlled environment.”

The large language models (LLMs) made by ChatGPT parent OpenAI or Google or Microsoft all have various safety measures designed to prevent people from abusing them for nefarious purposes — such as creating malware or hate speech. In contrast, WormGPT has promoted itself as a new LLM that was created specifically for cybercrime activities. Continue reading Meet the Brains Behind the Malware-Friendly AI Chat Service ‘WormGPT’→

How Malicious Android Apps Slip Into Disguise

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Researchers say mobile malware purveyors have been abusing a bug in the Google Android platform that lets them sneak malicious code into benign mobile apps and evade security scanning tools. Google says it has updated its app malware detection mechanisms in response to the new research. Continue reading How Malicious Android Apps Slip Into Disguise→

Russia Sends Cybersecurity CEO to Jail for 14 Years

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The Russian government today handed down a treason conviction and 14-year prison sentence on Iyla Sachkov, the former founder and CEO of one of Russia’s largest cybersecurity firms. Sachkov, 37, has been detained for nearly two years under charges that the Kremlin has kept classified and hidden from public view, and he joins a growing roster of former Russian cybercrime fighters who are now serving hard time for farcical treason convictions. Continue reading Russia Sends Cybersecurity CEO to Jail for 14 Years→

CISA Order Highlights Persistent Risk at Network Edge

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The U.S. government agency in charge of improving the nation’s cybersecurity posture is ordering all federal civilian agencies to take new measures to restrict access to Internet-exposed networking equipment. The directive comes amid a surge in attacks targeting previously unknown vulnerabilities in widely used security and networking appliances. Continue reading CISA Order Highlights Persistent Risk at Network Edge→

Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data

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A shocking number of organizations — including banks and healthcare providers — are leaking private and sensitive information from their public Salesforce Community websites, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. The data exposures all stem from a misconfiguration in Salesforce Community that allows an unauthenticated user to access records that should only be available after logging in. Continue reading Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data→

3CX Breach Was a Double Supply Chain Compromise

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We learned some remarkable new details this week about the recent supply-chain attack on VoIP software provider 3CX, a complex, lengthy intrusion that has the makings of a cyberpunk spy novel: North Korean hackers using legions of fake executive accounts on LinkedIn to lure people into opening malware disguised as a job offer; malware targeting Mac and Linux users working at defense and cryptocurrency firms; and software supply-chain attacks nested within earlier supply chain attacks. Continue reading 3CX Breach Was a Double Supply Chain Compromise→