Cybercrime

Cybercrime / News Briefs

Google Reports 18 Million Daily COVID-19 Related Malware, Phishing Emails Per Day

During the last week, Google says it has been seeing 18 million malware and phishing emails related to COVID-19 daily. This, the company reported today, "is in addition to more than 240 million COVID-related daily spam messages."

Over 360 Security Experts Around the World From Group to Combat COVID-19 Hackers, Protect Hospitals

An international group of more than 360 cyber threat intelligence researchers from over 40 countries have joined forces to help the medical sector amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Microsoft Takes Legal Action Against North Korean Cybercrime Group, Takes Down 50 Domains

Microsoft has taken control of 50 domains used by a North Korean cybercrime group dubbed "Thallium" to steal information from users, including government employees, think tanks, university staff members, and those working on nuclear proliferation issues.

U.N. Approves Resolution to Combat Cybercrime Despite Opposition From E.U., the U.S. and Others

The U.N. General Assembly has approved a resolution to start the process of drafting a new international treaty against cybercrime despite objections from the European Union, the United States and other countries. The Russian-drafted resolution received approval from a 193-member world body with a vote of 79-60 and 33 abstentions.

Leading Domain Registries and Registrars Release Joint Document on Addressing ‘DNS Abuse’

A group of leading domain name registries and registrars have joined forces in the fight against abuse in the Domain Name System (DNS), by developing a "Framework to Address Abuse." Each contributing company has shared its expertise and experience mitigating abusive practices with the goal of submitting the resulting Framework as a foundational document for further discussion in the multistakeholder community.

More Than 500 Schools in the U.S. Hit by Ransomware in 2019, Says Report

A recent report published by the cybersecurity firm Armor says ransomware infections have hit over 500 US schools in 2019 to date. Armor warns the rate of attack seems to be picking up with 15 new ransomware victims in the last two weeks, all of them educational institutions.

Cyber Risk Now on Top of Corporate Risk Agendas, Cyber Insurance Expanding

Results from the 2019 Marsh-Microsoft Global Cyber Risk Perception survey indicates several encouraging signs of improvement in the way organizations view and manage cyber risk.

281 Arrested Worldwide by US Federal Authorities in Connection With Business Email Compromise Scheme

U.S. Department of Justice says federal authorities successfully carried out a "significant" coordinated effort to disrupt Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes designed to intercept and hijack wire transfers from businesses and individuals.

The Insecurity of the IoT is Only Getting More Profound, Says Principal Researcher at F-Secure

"Three years after Mirai first appeared, and two years after WannaCry, it shows that we still haven't solved the problems leveraged in those outbreaks," said F-Secure Principal Researcher Jarno Niemela.

Ransomware Causes 15 Schools in Arizona To Stay Closed For a Second Day

The Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD), in Arizona which consists of 15 schools and over 9,600 students, canceled classes on both Thursday and Friday after a ransomware virus was found on multiple servers.

Phishing Attacks Targeting Executives Now Top Cybersecurity Insurance Claims, Says AIG

A new report published by the insurance giant, AIG, claims phishing attacks via email, often targeted at senior executives, has overtaken ransomware.

By 2021 Cost of Cybercrime to Top Annual Natural Disasters and Global Drug Trade Costs, Says Report

By 2021, it is estimated that cybercrime will cost the global economy more than $6 trillion in damages, exceeding annual costs for natural disasters and the global drug trade.

Close to 200K Phishing Domains Discovered in a 5-Month Span, 66% Targetted Consumers, Akamai Reports

Between December 2, 2018 and May 4, 2019, 197,524 phishing domains were discovered, 66% of which directly targeted consumers according to the latest State of the Internet report by Akamai.

A Seattle Woman Charged With Capital One Data Theft Affecting 106 Million People

Major US bank Capital One Financial Corporation confirmed Monday evening that unauthorized access was made by an outside individual who obtained "certain types of personal information" on credit card products and Capital One credit card customers.

A 60% Rise Reported on Malware Designed to Harvest Consumers’ Digital Data, aka Password Stealers

A significant rise has been detected in the use of malware aimed at harvesting consumer data, known as password stealers.