News

Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei is under pressure again after a report revealed new documents which apparently show a concerted attempt to cover-up its links with a ‘partner’ business in Iran which tried to break US sanctions. The firm in question, Skycom, is at the centre of a US case against Huawei in which it accuses it and CFO Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the owner, of fraudulently obtaining US goods for its Iran business via...

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) has suffered a data breach after an unauthorised person gained access to a database hosted in a test environment. SFERS manages the benefits program for active and retired employees of San Francisco, California. In a data breach notification filed today, SFERS stated that one of their vendors had set up a test environment that included a database containing the information for approximately 74,000 SFERS members. Source: Bleeping Computer

The winners of the 2020 European Cybersecurity Blogger Awards were announced last night in an event with a twist. Forgoing the usual booze up in a pub close to Infosecurity Europe this year, the awards ceremony went virtual! And thanks to Qualys, the headline sponsor, cocktail kits were sent to all registered finalists to join in for an online cocktail-making class given by Patrick Fogarty of Doctor Ink’s Curiosities / Stir Crazy. Judges Yvonne Eskenzi...

Ransomware gangs are teaming up to extort victims through a shared data leak platform, and the exchange of tactics and intelligence. In November 2019, the Maze Ransomware operators transformed ransomware attacks into data breaches after they released unencrypted data of a victim who refused to pay. Soon after, they launched a dedicated "Maze News" site used to shame their unpaid victims by publicly releasing stolen data. Source: Bleeping Computer

Security experts are warning of growing dark web demand for access to users’ YouTube accounts. Etay Maor, CSO at cyber-intelligence firm IntSights, explained that in recent weeks his team has noticed an uptick in demand for stolen credentials for prominent accounts on the video site. While account access can be used to spread malware and launch fraud scams against viewers, it is also used to blackmail the account owner. “YouTube accounts from compromised computers or from...

The operators of the DopplePaymer ransomware have congratulated SpaceX and NASA for their first human-operated rocket launch and then immediately announced that they infected the network of one of NASA's IT contractors. In a blog post published today, the DopplePaymer ransomware gang said it successfully breached the network of Digital Management Inc. (DMI), a Maryland-based company that provides managed IT and cyber-security services on demand. According to the company's press releases, DMI's customer list includes...

The operators of the REvil ransomware have launched a new auction site used to sell victim's stolen data to the highest bidder. REvil, otherwise known as Sodinokibi, is a ransomware operation that breaches corporate networks using exposed remote desktop services, spam, exploits, and hacked Managed Service Providers. Once established on a network, they quietly spread laterally through the company while stealing unencrypted data from workstations and exposed servers. Source: Bleeping Computer

The recent high-profile cyberattack that struck British budget airline EasyJet may have been carried out by Chinese hackers, new research and multiple sources have suggested. The cyberattack, which saw the email addresses and travel details of millions of passengers being robbed—as well as the credit card details of some 2,000—was reportedly conducted by the very same group of Chinese hackers responsible for other attacks on a number of airlines in recent months. Source: CPO Magazine

A gang demanded an £800,000 Bitcoin ransom in a cyber attack on a firm owned by Kent County Council and leaked its data on the dark web. Kent Commercial Services (KCS) delivers services and supplies to public authorities, including protective equipment during the Covid-19 crisis. No ransom was paid and no personal data relating to taxpayers was stolen, KCS said. The Information Commissioner said KCS had been given data protection advice. KCS chief executive John...

As protests continue to proliferate across the globe in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the Minnesota Police Department is making news for something else: A supposed hack, perpetrated at the hands of the Anonymous hacktivist group. According to Troy Hunt at Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), the group of allegedly ill-gotten email addresses and passwords has been circulating in multiple forums, with most of them attributing the credential leak to Anonymous, which is a...