Category Archives: The Coming Storm

Trump, DNC, RNC Flunk Email Security Test

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Donald J. Trump has repeatedly bashed Sen. Hillary Clinton for handling classified documents on her private email server, even going so far as to suggest that anyone who is so lax with email security isn’t fit to become president. But a closer look at the Web sites for each candidate shows that in contrast to hillaryclinton.com, donaldjtrump.com has failed to take full advantage of a free and open email security technology designed to stymie email spoofing and phishing attacks. Continue reading Trump, DNC, RNC Flunk Email Security Test→

Cybercrime Overtakes Traditional Crime in UK

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In a notable sign of the times, cybercrime has now surpassed all other forms of crime in the United Kingdom, the nation’s National Crime Agency (NCA) warned in a new report. It remains unclear how closely the rest of the world tracks the U.K.’s experience, but the report reminds readers that the problem is likely far worse than the numbers suggest, noting that cybercrime is vastly under-reported by victims. Continue reading Cybercrime Overtakes Traditional Crime in UK→

Rise of Darknet Stokes Fear of The Insider

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With the proliferation of shadowy black markets on the so-called “darknet” — hidden crime bazaars that can only be accessed through special software that obscures one’s true location online — it has never been easier for disgruntled employees to harm their current or former employer. At least, this is the fear driving a growing stable of companies seeking technical solutions to detect would-be insiders. Continue reading Rise of Darknet Stokes Fear of The Insider→

Microsoft Patches Dozens of Security Holes

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Microsoft today released updates to address more than three dozen security holes in Windows and related software. Meanwhile, Adobe — which normally releases fixes for its ubiquitous Flash Player alongside Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday cycle — said it’s putting off today’s expected Flash patch until the end of this week so it can address an unpatched Flash vulnerability that already is being exploited in active attacks. Continue reading Microsoft Patches Dozens of Security Holes→

IRS Re-Enables ‘Get Transcript’ Feature

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The Internal Revenue Service has re-enabled a service on its Web site that allows taxpayers to get a copy of their previous year’s tax transcript. The renewed effort to beef up taxpayer authentication methods at irs.gov comes more than a year after the agency disabled the transcript service because tax refund fraudsters were using it to steal sensitive data on consumers. Continue reading IRS Re-Enables ‘Get Transcript’ Feature→

Password Re-user? Get Ready to Get Busy

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In the wake of megabreaches at some of the Internet’s most-recognized destinations, don’t be surprised if you receive password reset requests from numerous companies that didn’t experience a breach: Some big name companies — including Facebook and Netflix — are in the habit of combing through huge data leak troves for credentials that match those of their customers and then forcing a password reset for those users. Continue reading Password Re-user? Get Ready to Get Busy→

Got $90,000? A Windows 0-Day Could Be Yours

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How much would a cybercriminal, nation state or organized crime group pay for blueprints on how to exploit a serious, currently undocumented, unpatched vulnerability in all versions of Microsoft Windows? That price probably depends on the power of the exploit and what the market will bear at the time, but here’s a look at one convincing recent exploit sales thread from the cybercrime underworld where the current asking price for a Windows-wide bug that allegedly defeats all of Microsoft’s current security defenses is USD $90,000. Continue reading Got $90,000? A Windows 0-Day Could Be Yours→

New Threat Can Auto-Brick Apple Devices

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If you use an Apple iPhone, iPad or other iDevice, now would be an excellent time to ensure that the machine is running the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system — version 9.3.1. Failing to do so could expose your devices to automated threats capable of rendering them unresponsive and perhaps forever useless. Continue reading New Threat Can Auto-Brick Apple Devices→

FBI: $2.3 Billion Lost to CEO Email Scams

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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) this week warned about a “dramatic” increase in so-called “CEO fraud,” e-mail scams in which the attacker spoofs a message from the boss and tricks someone at the organization into wiring funds to the fraudsters. The FBI estimates that these scams have cost organizations more than $2.3 billion in losses over the past three years. Continue reading FBI: $2.3 Billion Lost to CEO Email Scams→

Seagate Phish Exposes All Employee W-2’s

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Email scam artists last week tricked an employee at data storage giant Seagate Technology into giving away 2015 W-2 tax documents on all current and past employees, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. W-2 forms contain employee Social Security numbers, salaries and other personal data, and are highly prized by thieves involved in filing phony tax refund requests with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the states. Continue reading Seagate Phish Exposes All Employee W-2’s→