Cyber Bites

Shares in Zoom Video Communications dipped 3.8 per cent on Tuesday following a lawsuit by a user who claims the videoconferencing service illegally disclosed personal information. While Zoom shares have fallen so far this week, the stock has more than doubled from the $62 closing price on its first day of trading in April last year. The stock was trading at $145.16 at 11:35am in New York on Tuesday, giving the company a $40.5 billion...

When hackers broke into computers at Hammersmith Medicines Research, a London-based company that carries out clinical trials for new medicines, it was a nightmare scenario for managing director Malcolm Boyce. The coronavirus crisis was just beginning to take hold in the U.K., and the company was in talks with other firms about potentially testing a vaccine. The hackers used encryption to lock down thousands of the company’s patient records and promised to publish them online...

 RUMOURS that popular video-calling app Houseparty has been "hacked" are spreading like wildfire online – but its creators deny a breach. The chat app has quickly become a viral hit in recent weeks, but terrified users are now deleting the app over fears Houseparty has been compromised. As the world goes into lockdown due to the coronavirus crisis, internet users have flocked to Houseparty. The hit app lets friends and family make video calls, play...

  Security researchers at KnowBe4 have identified a new phishing scam that involves phishers luring Internet users to download malicious documents attached to fake emails that appear to have been sent by a hospital. The fake emails sent by the phishers informed recipients that they recently came into contact with an acquaintance who had COVID-19, thereby creating a sense of anxiety among those who received such emails. Recipients were asked to download an Excel document...

Downing Street is working with social-media companies to counter fake news and misinformation on coronavirus, as well as take down fraud and phishing campaigns looking to exploit the outbreak. The misinformation 'rapid-response unit' – based across the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Cabinet Office and Number 10 – looks to take down false narratives around coronavirus cures, as well as online scams looking to take advantage of people looking for information on...

An unidentified party has reportedly placed the source code for Dharma ransomware up for sale on at least two Russian hacker forums, adding a formidable new competitor to an already crowded underground market. And while cybercriminals have met the offer with some healthy skepticism, the bargain-basement selling price of $2,000 may be alluring enough for prospective buyers to take their chances, said Allan Liska, Recorded Future intelligence analyst, in an interview SC Media on Monday....

  Google has registered a significant drop in government-backed cyberattacks against its properties and the people who use its products. Google sends out warnings if it detects that an account is a target of government-backed phishing or malware attempts. For 2019, the internet giant sent almost 40,000 warnings – which, while a large number, is still a nearly 25 percent drop from the year before. Source: Threatpost

The use of remote access technologies like RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) has skyrocketed 41% and 33%, respectively, since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The move comes as a large number of companies have asked staff to work from home, which usually entails connecting to internal intranets via remote access technologies like the two named above. Source: ZD Net

  Voter information for more than 4.9 million Georgians, including deceased citizens, has been published on a hacking forum over the weekend, on Saturday. Personal information such as full names, home addresses, dates of birth, ID numbers, and mobile phone numbers were shared online in a 1.04 GB MDB (Microsoft Access database) file. The leaked data was spotted by the Under the Breach, a data breach monitoring and prevention service, and shared with ZDNet over...

Scammers have sent out a text message claiming all Westpac accounts have been frozen unless customers click on a link and provide their account details. They tried using the coronavirus chaos to fool unsuspecting Australians with the SMS caps lock title: 'Important message from Westpac'. 'For the safety of our customers due to the recent COVID-19 virus, all customers are required to review and update their personal details,' it said. Source: Daily Mail