European police dismantle cybercrime ring with ties to Italian Mafia
The group used phishing, BEC and other types of attacks to swindle victims out of millions
Cybercrime
Man impersonates Apple support, steals 620,000 photos from iCloud accounts
The man was after sexually explicit photos and videos that he would then share online or store in his own collection
Hackers swipe almost $100 million from major cryptocurrency exchange
Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid suspends cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals and moves its assets into cold storage
Black Hat 2021: Wanted posters for ransomware slingers
Is the net closing in on cyber-extortionists and can bounties on their collective heads ultimately help stem the ransomware scourge?
Global police shut down VPN service favored by cybercriminals
A global operation takes down the infrastructure of DoubleVPN and seizes data about its customers
Gaming industry under siege from cyberattacks during pandemic
Cyberattacks targeting the gaming industry skyrocket, with web attacks more than tripling year-on-year in 2020
Microsoft takes down large‑scale BEC operation
The fraudsters ran their campaigns from the cloud and used phishing attacks and email forwarding rules to steal financial information
Tracking ransomware cryptocurrency payments: What now for Bitcoin?
Should we expect cybercriminals to ditch the pseudonymous cryptocurrency for other forms of payment that may be better at throwing law enforcement off the scent?
Hundreds of suspected criminals arrested after being tricked into using FBI‑run chat app
Law enforcement around the world used a messaging app called AN0M to monitor the communications of alleged criminals
Scams target families of missing persons, FBI warns
Con artists use social media to find and target victims for various nefarious ends, including to extort relatives of missing persons
European police bust major online investment fraud ring
The operation was carried out against an organized group that used online trading platforms to swindle victims out of US$36 million
DDoS attack knocks Belgian government websites offline
The attack overwhelmed the systems of a Belgian ISP, leading to widespread service outages and disruptions
INTERPOL aims to deal a blow to digital piracy
The agency’s new initiative will also warn about the high cost of the free lunch – the increased risk of malware exposure
FBI teams up with ‘Have I Been Pwned’ to alert Emotet victims
The data breach notification site now allows you to check if your login credentials may have been compromised by Emotet
$38 million worth of gift cards stolen and sold on dark web
Easy to redeem and hard to trace, gift cards remain a hot commodity in the criminal underground
Vengeful IT worker gets jail time for deleting company’s Microsoft user accounts
The company was left to deal with three months’ worth of IT problems
FBI: Cybercrime losses topped US$4.2 billion in 2020
The Bureau received over 28,000 reports of COVID-19-themed scams last year
Not all cybercriminals are sophisticated
Some perpetrators of online crime and fraud don’t use advanced methods to profit at the expense of unsuspecting victims and to avoid getting caught
Hacker attempts to poison Florida city’s water supply
While the incursion was thwarted in time, cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure are a major cause for concern
Stolen employee credentials put leading gaming firms at risk
It’s hardly fun and games for top gaming companies and their customers as half a million employee credentials turn up for sale on the dark web