In a terrible start to the year for Irish tram firm Luas, their site was compromised a week ago and adorned with a stark ransom warning: Click to enlarge You are hacked. Some time ago I wrote that you have serious security holes. You didn’t reply. The next time someone talks to you, press the reply button. You must pay one bitcoin in five days. Otherwise I will publish all data and send emails to … [Read more...]
January 11, 2019
December 20, 2018
Christmas tech scams roundup
There’s a fair few Christmas tech scams floating around out there as 2018 winds up, and we thought it’d be a good time to warn you about them. It’s the usual mish-mash of phone antics, social media shenanigans, and click bait. Shall we begin? This scam looks divine BOOM reports on a collection of anti-aging cream websites targeting regions such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, and Colombia. … [Read more...]
October 25, 2018
October 2, 2018
Fortnite gamers targeted by data theft malware
The new season of the incredibly popular video game Fortnite is upon us, and so too are the scams. It’s no surprise that con artists would jump on this bandwagon, eager to peddle their fakeouts. Only this time, scammers had something a little more dangerous in mind than your typical low-level surveys and downloads that never actually materialize. Among all the gluttony of scams there hid a … [Read more...]
September 20, 2018
February 8, 2018
New Deepfakes forum goes mining with Coinhive
You may or may be familiar with the furore over Deepfakes, a relatively new development in pornography involving a tool called FacesApp, which is capable of producing a real porn clip that replaces the original actors’ heads with those of celebrities—or indeed, anyone at all. Online fakes have been around since the early 2000s or possibly even earlier; alongside those old photos, fakers … [Read more...]
January 29, 2018
A week in security (January 22 – January 28)
Last week on Labs, we analyzed a rogue app outbreak on Twitter, took a look at how Singapore’s government is faring with network defense, and rolled out our 2017 State of Malware report. We also became visionaries in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report and explored a VR data mishap. Other news Man jailed for mass email compromise. (source: Justice.gov) You have 10 days to save your … [Read more...]
January 9, 2018
RIG exploit kit campaign gets deep into crypto craze
There isn’t a day that goes by without a headline about yet another massive spike in Bitcoin valuation, or a story about someone mortgaging their house to purchase the hardware required to become a serious cryptocurrency miner. If many folks are thinking about joining the ‘crypto craze’ movement, they may be surprised to learn that they already have. We’ve documented … [Read more...]
December 13, 2017
December 11, 2017
How cryptocurrency mining works: Bitcoin vs. Monero
Ever wondered why websites that are mining in the background don’t mine for the immensely hot Bitcoin, but for Monero instead? We can explain that. As there are different types of cryptocurrencies, there are also different types of mining. After providing you with some background information about blockchain [1],[2] and cryptocurrency, we’ll explain how the mining aspect of Bitcoin works. And how … [Read more...]
