Screen capture of Al-Qaeda-associated website soliciting cryptocurrency donations for activities in Syria (Source: Justice Department)

US Seizes $2 Million in Cryptocurrency From Terrorist Groups

Scott Ferguson • August 13, 2020

The U.S. Justice Department has seized more than $2 million worth of cryptocurrency from terrorists groups who solicited donations via social media and waged fraud campaigns.

Governance & Risk Management

Global Cybercrime Surging During Pandemic

Latest

Cybercrime as-a-service

RedCurl Cyber Espionage Gang Targets Corporate Secrets

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 13, 2020

Since 2018, an advanced persistent threat group dubbed RedCurl, which has served as a team of for-hire hackers specializing in corporate espionage, has hit at least 14 targets in Canada, Russia, the U.K. and beyond, says cybersecurity firm Group-IB.

Anti-Phishing, DMARC

SANS Institute Sees Its Breach as Teachable Moment

Chinmay Rautmare • August 13, 2020

The SANS Institute, which is known for its cybersecurity training courses, is now planning to turn its own data breach into a teachable moment for its membership.

Application Security

More Microsoft Zero-Day Flaws Being Exploited

Prajeet Nair • August 12, 2020

Two critical, zero-day vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer and multiple versions of the Windows operating system are being exploited in the wild, Microsoft and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warn, urging prompt patching.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Avaddon Ransomware Joins Data-Leaking Club

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 12, 2020

Yet another ransomware-wielding gang has threatened to steal and leak the data of any victims who refuse to pay a ransom: The operators of Avaddon ransomware have created a dedicated data-leak site that already lists a construction firm victim, and the gang continues to recruit new affiliates.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Beware: AgentTesla Infostealer Now More Powerful

Akshaya Asokan • August 12, 2020

The operators behind the AgentTesla remote access Trojan have upgraded the infostealer with additional capabilities, including the ability to steal credentials from VPNs, web browsers, FTP files and email clients, Sentinel Labs reports. The low-cost malware is used in BEC scams and other campaigns.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

BEC Scam Costs Trading Firm Virtu Financial $6.9 Million

Doug Olenick • August 11, 2020

High-speed trading firm Virtu Financial says it lost $6.9 million in a business email compromise scam in May. The company is now suing its insurer for failure to cover the loss.

3rd Party Risk Management

Snapdragon Chip Flaws Could Facilitate Mass Android Spying

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 11, 2020

Qualcomm is prepping patches for its Snapdragon Digital Signal Processor, used in an estimated 1 billion or more Android devices, after researchers at Check Point counted 400 flaws that attackers could exploit to take control of devices and steal all data they store.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Using DNS Data for Cybercrime Intelligence

Jeremy Kirk • August 11, 2020

The Domain Name System, which is at the heart of the internet, is a rich source of data that can help organizations defend themselves against cybercrime. DNS pioneer Paul Vixie says monitoring DNS traffic is crucial, and it's advisable to run your own recursive resolver.

Account Takeover

Fighting Fraud: Understanding Threat Actors' Techniques

Suparna Goswami • August 11, 2020

The fight against fraud requires more than using the right technologies; it requires understanding threat actors' techniques, says Robert Villanueva of Q6 Cyber.

Account Takeover

How Was Reddit Defaced?

Jeremy Kirk • August 10, 2020

Reddit had a very "Make America Great Again" weekend, as more than 70 subreddits were temporarily hijacked and used to post "MAGA" messages in support of U.S. President Donald Trump. Attackers claim they used social engineering and password stuffing to compromise the accounts.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

The Debate Over Trump 'Ban' of TikTok, WeChat

Doug Olenick • August 7, 2020

President Donald Trump's executive order banning the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps could prove to be unenforceable, some privacy and security specialists say. But some Republican lawmakers hailed the move, citing the national security risks posed by the apps.

Application Security

Managing API Security

Suparna Goswami • August 7, 2020

Because APIs are an attractive target for hackers, organizations need to make API security a higher priority, says Aseem Ahmed of Akamai Technologies.