The Pareto botnet, known for using almost a million infected Android devices to spoof people seemingly watching ads on smart TVs, was reportedly taken down recently through the collaboration of industry players, notably Roku and Google.
Telecommunications companies are a favored cyberattack target. After all, telcos build, control, and operate critical infrastructure that almost everyone uses to communicate. They also store large amounts of sensitive data that could easily be exploited when falling into the wrong hands.
Brand protection costs money and requires a big investment of time and effort. Because of that, brand owners are tasked with proving to management that the return on investment is worth it when working with an external service provider.
Content streaming services are no stranger to cyberattacks, and the recent Spotify squatting campaign reported by IBM X-Force Exchange is proof of that. Spotify, however, is not alone on the boat, as many other streaming services have fallen prey to attacks over the years.
On 14 May 2021, Analyst1 security researchers released a detailed report on the DarkSide cybercriminal gang, which is believed to be responsible for ransomware attacks targeting the Colonial Pipeline. Part of the report was several indicators of compromise (IoCs), specifically 41 malware hashes, two domains, and three IP addresses.
The year 2020 saw a marked increase in fraudulent domain registrations, phishing attacks, hacks and hijacking attempts, as well as the sale of counterfeit goods. Companies must protect themselves from revenue and reputation losses, as well as the risks of data breaches -- and not just react to the new face of commerce.
ZeuS malware traces its origin as far back as 2006, when it was used to steal victims' online banking credentials. In 2011, its source code was leaked on a file-sharing site and quickly spread throughout various underground fora.
A Domain Name System (DNS) blackhole is essentially a DNS server that gives false results for domain names. Also known as a "sinkhole server," an "Internet sinkhole," or a "DNS sinkhole," threat actors sometimes use DNS blackholes to redirect users to potentially harmful sites or pages.
On any given day, most of us get more emails that we won't read than those that we would. Many of these messages will remain unread and sent to the trash. There comes the third category of emails: Those we wished we hadn't read and acted upon because they are bound to be malicious, sent by cybercriminals trying to lure you into one of their scams.
Cryptocurrencies keep making waves in the online community, making them prime vehicles of threat actors in scam, phishing, and other malicious campaigns. Fraudsters, for one, have stolen millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies from investors through websites that promise rewards, giveaways, and earning opportunities.